Right now, Congress has two jobs: to pass a budget that invests in the middle class and to pay the bills it has already incurred.
But instead of doing their jobs, a few reckless Republicans in Congress are so obsessed with refighting old political battles over Obamacare that they’re threatening to shut down the government and stop paying the country’s bills.
On Friday, these House Republicans voted to shut down the government unless the Senate and the President agree to defund Obamacare. This week, instead of playing those games, the Senate is set to send a simple budget resolution back to the House — one that keeps the government open for a few months while leaders continue to work on a budget that creates jobs and cuts the deficit in a balanced way. That’s a reasonable solution.
But some Republicans still care more about scoring political points on Obamacare than keeping the government open and our economy moving forward.
This kind of up-to-the-final-hour brinksmanship is beyond irresponsible, and it could reverse the hard-earned economic progress we’ve made by creating another crisis. Unfortunately, we’ve watched them run this play before, and we know what it looks like. Two years ago, these Republicans held the economy hostage, and as a result our credit rating was downgraded, the stock market plummeted 17 percent, consumer confidence dropped like a rock, and businesses stopped hiring.
That’s why it’s time for GOP lawmakers to pass a simple budget resolution that doesn’t defund Obamacare and move on.
We need your help to spread the word so that Americans know what’s going on, so forward this message to your friends and family.
In the five years since the financial crisis began, the American people have pushed the economy forward. Over the past 42 months, businesses have added 7.5 million jobs. American manufacturing is growing again, and the auto industry is back. We’ve reformed Wall Street so that no company is ever again too big to fail and created the toughest consumer financial protections this nation has ever seen. We’ve cut our deficit by more than half, made the tax code more progressive, and reformed our health care system.
Today, there is record demand for American products abroad, and our tech companies are booming. The housing market is coming back — sales of existing homes are up by double digits and new foreclosures are down to the lowest levels since the start of 2006.
We need to keep building momentum. So we’re asking Congress to join the President in creating a better bargain for the middle class, and give up on manufacturing a new political crisis. For that to happen, reasonable Congressional Republicans have to stand up to a few extreme members of their party for the good of the country and our economy.
From the day he took office, President Obama has been open to any good idea when it comes to the budget, as long as supporting middle-class families remains our North Star. Republicans won’t extract concessions over the full faith and credit of the United States.
Will you help spread the word? Share this message so that people know what’s about to happen to the economy if Congress doesn’t act.
Thanks,
Dan
Dan Pfeiffer
Senior Advisor
The White House
@Pfeiffer44
P.S. — Want to learn more about where we are five years after the start of the financial crisis? Check this out.
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Contact the White House
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The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111
There is a general consensus in the economic literature that strong links exist between trade, economic growth and poverty reduction. Countries that have embraced an outward-oriented development strategy, with trade liberalisation at its heart, have not only outperformed inward-looking economies in terms of long-term aggregate growth rates, but have also succeeded in lowering poverty rates and registering improvements in other social indicators.
There are many channels through which trade-induced growth leads to poverty reduction. Indeed, exports act as the conduit through which countries exploit their comparative advantage, improve their overall efficiency and productivity, and enable industries to employ their resources more efficiently and profitably. These factors expand demand, spur consumption, and reduce risks associated with reliance on the domestic market. They also increase employment in labour-intensive sectors and raise wages and standards of living. Imports permit countries to gain access to a wider range of goods and services and allow local firms to benefit from more, cheaper and newer technologies that increase productivity and competitiveness.
The 2013 report Aid for Trade at a Glance: Connecting to Value Chains analyses the strategies, priorities, and programmes from the public and private sectors in developing and developed countries to connect developing country suppliers to value chains. The report suggests that the increasing fragmentation of production processes offers developing countries new trading opportunities, but also present risks. Value chains reinforce the rationale for keeping markets open and highlight the costs of burdensome procedures that create “thick borders”.
Congress could vote this week on a bill to kick millions of children and families off SNAP–a.k.a. “food stamps.” We have to show them that we won’t stand for attacks on programs that help the neediest Americans. Can you sign the petition?
http://act.weareultraviolet.org/go/1115?t=2&akid=609.6000.jATLGd
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Dear Readers,
Congress wants to take food from the mouths of hungry children and families. Literally.
For 30 years, the food stamp program–now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or “SNAP”–has been renewed regularly by Congress with broad bipartisan support and minimal opposition.1 And for good reason: SNAP lifted 4.7 million people out of poverty in 2011 alone, 2.1 million of whom were children. SNAP also boosts our economy, returning $9 for each $5 spent on the program.2 No brainer, right?
But Congress is proposing cuts of about $40 BILLION from SNAP, kicking somewhere between 4 and 6 million people off the program.3
After children, women are the biggest SNAP recipients,4 relying on it to provide food for themselves and their families–including millions of kids who would otherwise go hungry. Congress could vote on the bill this week. Before they do, we have to show them that attacks on programs like SNAP will create intense public backlash. Journalists are just starting to write about the immoral cuts in this bill. If tens of thousands of us speak out now, we can expose what Congress is up to and make sure it’s defeated. Can you sign the petition?
Hunger is a serious problem in this country. Studies show that children who don’t have a reliable source of food were more likely to be hospitalized, have chronic conditions such as asthma, or have behavioral problems and trouble in school.5 Last year, 1 in 6 Americans struggled with hunger, including 16 million children. SNAP helped nearly 15% of people in the U.S. rely on the program to provide food for themselves or their families.6 According to the Center for American Progress, “nearly 72 percent of SNAP participants are in families with children; more than one-quarter of participants are in households with seniors or people with disabilities.”7
But conservatives in the House can’t stop attacking this vital program. In June, they introduced a bill to cut more than $20 billion from the program, but it failed in the House in part because extremists didn’t think it cut enough. Now, they’re back with this new bill that doubles the cuts to a devastating $40 billion.8 The bill would take free school meals away from 210,000 children and affect 170,000 veterans. In total, 22 million children and 9 millions seniors or people with disabilities would be hurt by the cuts. It would even cost 55,000 jobs in the first year alone.9
Conservatives are determined to slash funding to SNAP and other programs like it. We have to make sure this bill is defeated and show them that it doesn’t pay to attack the neediest Americans. If we generate enough outrage to get the attention of the press, we can make sure this bill is defeated. Can you sign?
Add your name.
http://act.weareultraviolet.org/go/1115?t=4&akid=609.6000.jATLGd
Thanks for speaking out.
–Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, and Malinda, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. 30 Years of Tackling Hunger on a Bipartisan Basis Is in Danger of Failing This Fall, Center for American Progress, September 16, 2013
2. Infographic: Stop Slashing SNAP, Center for American Progress, September 16, 2013
3. 30 Years of Tackling Hunger on a Bipartisan Basis Is in Danger of Failing This Fall, Center for American Progress, September 16, 2013
4. Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011, United States Department of Agriculture, November 2012
5. Child Development, Feeding America
6. More Than 1 in 7 Use Food Stamps in U.S., Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2012
7. 30 Years of Tackling Hunger on a Bipartisan Basis Is in Danger of Failing This Fall, Center for American Progress, September 16, 2013
8. Ibid.
9. Infographic: Stop Slashing SNAP, Center for American Progress, September 16, 2013
—
UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way.
Chip in here.
https://weareultraviolet.actionkit.com/donate/donate?akid=609.6000.jATLGd
From: Dickens Wasonga
Date: Mon, Sep 9, 2013 at 2:57 PM
To: jaluo karjaluo jaluo@jaluo.com
By Dickens Wasonga.
Communities living along the shores of Lake Victoria are now gaining hugely, thanks to the support they are receiving through the World Bank funded Lake Victoria Environmental Project.
In Nandi in the rift valley and Nyando in Nyanza, the locals have ventured into massive tree planting as a way of environmental conservation and the results are impressive.
A part from reclaiming most of the forest cover that was cleared and turned into farmlands, the residents are now reaping huge benefits from the sale of tree seedlings from nurseries so far established through LVEMP’s support.
The multimillion project which began in 2010 is targeting the implementation of two main broad objectives in its collaborative approach to management of shared natural resources within Lake Victoria Basin.
Working with selected community groups which have been undertaking activities targeting to reduce environmental stress within the basin, LVEMP is also sponsoring activities aimed at changing the livelihoods of the communities.
The regional project is implemented by all the five member states of the east African community.
It is undertaking its activities through the government lead agencies who offer technical support to the benefiting groups in selected catchment areas.
In Kenya it is targeting the river Nyando basin and along the shores of Lake Victoria.
According to LVEMP’s national project coordinator madam Francisca Owuor, so far a total of Ksh 116 million has been disbursed to 114 community groups in areas covered by the project.
It is expected that before the project end in 2015, a total of 240 groups will have been supported.
Speaking at the close of a week-long field excursion organized by LVEMP 2 and attended by twenty journalists from various media houses the coordinator disclosed that Ksh 400M will be spent in the community driven development activities.
She told the journalists that LVEMP has also approved proposals from 225 groups and funding for them is underway.
However, 111 groups whose proposals were approved are yet to be launched to begin implementation of various activities because they are still undergoing environmental impact assessment by the national environmental management authority.
The benefiting groups are those that were already doing something to protect the environment and at the same time engaging in livelihood changing activities.
Most of the groups are for example , engaged in tree planting along the river banks, other s are controlling soil erosion by laying soil conservation structures like gabions and erection of terraces among others.
Apart from conserving the environment, they are also fully embracing commercial agriculture. Some communities have established tree nurseries through the financial support offered by LVEMP while others are keeping dairy animals and keeping bees.
In the North rift, areas around Nandi Hills, in Nyando and Homa Bay counties, communities are now planting millions of trees in their farms and along the river banks. They are also protecting water springs by planting bamboo and other tree species that protect the water towers.
The project was necessitated by the realization that Lake Victoria which supports an estimated 30M people either directly or indirectly was facing huge environmental challenges and the stress was linked to unfavorable human activities within the basin which needed to be reversed.
Water levels in Lake Victoria were alarmingly low due to silting because of poor farming activities upstream, quality of the lake water s was greatly compromised as a result of pollution, aquatic immensely interfered with and so there was urgent need to reverse this trend.
WHO GOT THE DEFENSE DOLLARS, AND HOW THEY VOTED ON SYRIA I
Senators who backed Syria resolution got 83 per cent more defense lobby money than those who voted against it
By Daily Mail
Wednesday’s 10-7 vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee supporting an authorization of military attacks on Syria may have been affected by varying levels of financial support the senators got from political action committees representing the defense industry, and from the companies’ employees.
On average, a ‘yes’-voting senator received 83 per cent more money from defense contractors than one who voted ‘no.’
The resolution would not authorize the deployment of ground forces, but MailOnline reported Wednesday that the Pentagon has already estimated the need for 75,000 troops to secure Syria’s vast supplies of chemical weapons and the factories that produce them.
Over a 5-year period, most of the $1,006,887 that flowed from the defense lobby to senators who weighed in on Wednesdays war powers resolution went to those who cast ‘yes’ votes.
On average, those ‘yes’ votes came after $72,850 in defense-contractor campaign dollars, while a ‘no’ vote followed just $39,270.
Here’s how it stacked up.
YES VOTES
$176,300 – John McCain (R-AZ)
$127,350 – Dick Durbin (D-IL)
$101,025 – Tim Kaine (D-VA)
$80,550 – Ben Cardin (D-MD)
$70,850 – Bob Corker (R-TN)
$60,000 – Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
$41,872 – Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
$26,900 – Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
$24,150 – Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
$19,500 – Chris Coons (D-DE)
NO VOTES
$86,500 – John Barrasso (R-WY)
$62,790 – Marco Rubio (R-FL)
$59,250 – Chris Murphy (D-CT)
$19,250 – Ron Johnson (R-WI)
$18,700 – Tom Udall (D-NM)
$17,900 – Rand Paul (R-KY)
$14,000 – Jim Risch (R-ID)
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
Some of you have asked my take on Jubilee government voting to pull Kenya out of ICC and whether the ICC cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto should be a Kenyan concern.
In fact I don’t care who goes to The Hague, whether Uhuru, Ruto, Raila or Kibaki. My worry is what Eldoret Catholic Bishop Cornelius Korir has expressed, that Jubilee coalition leaders should accommodate views expressed by the opposition in order to avoid tribal or regional divisions and conflict among Kenyans.
Bishops Korir put it rightly that the more Jubilee leaders, particularly President Uhuru and his deputy Ruto continue to attack opposition leader Raila Odinga in public the more they plant seeds of hatred among tribes.
Recently Uhuru attacked Raila in public in Kwale when he was issuing title deeds to landless. On his part Ruto has been intimidating Raila referring to him as the man of vitandawili, asking Kenyans to disown him since he cannot make any leadership in Kenya even if he changes constitution hundred times.
Uhuru and Ruto are like the fathers of Kenyans, and by talking hill of some of their children is not healthy at all. They should learn from Kibaki who people thought was coward by keeping silence, pretending as if something had happened from the opposition leaders.
Against the background that in reference to calls for a referendum by Raila, Korir said there was no need for Jubilee leaders to be agitated. According to bishop Korir, if the country’s leadership does not want to remain focused, be sure of distraction.
Bishop Korir instead wants Jubilee government to accept and appreciate dissenting voices because they have a significant role to play in democracy, saying that we must have such people otherwise the country will not be good. It will not be good if everyone is laughing or if everyone is angry at each other.
He observed that opposition creates a balance in society and must, therefore, not be demonized. The bishop made the remarks while presiding over the North Rift thanksgiving service for disciplined officers and their families at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Eldoret at the weekend.
My second worry is again on what bishop Korir refers to as ‘unga’ revolutionary. Bishop Korir had warned that should Jubilee government pass the value-added tax bill (VAT), then there would be unga revolutionary in Kenya.
Korir’s concerned is that by passing VAT ordinary citizen would suffer great deal. This is because, taxing essential goods has a negative impact on consumption because it affects the poor, who have to make choices everyday on what to buy or not.
When the bill was presented in the parliament for discussions, I saw bishop Korir on TV almost shedding tears as he pleaded with Jubilee government to reconsider the bill, saying if they pass it there would be revolution.
Poor Mwananchi is affected because when prices of essential goods rise, consumption is likely to diminish and that ends up affecting production, especially milk farmers.
Already, the VAT on processed milk is coming in the backdrop of a looming shortage that has already seen the price of milk go up by between Sh5 to Sh10. All processed dairy products such as pasteurised milk, fermented milk, long life milk, yoghurt, milk powder, butter, cheese and ghee have been put in the tax bracket.
This burden will be borne by consumers. Higher milk prices will see many consumers stop taking milk or cut consumption, negatively affecting growth of the dairy industry.
A 500 ml packet of milk currently retailing at Sh45 could cost as much as Sh52 or more. There will be a continuous progression of price hikes and the cost of living will go up considerably.
Cooking gas, electricity, exercise books and mobile phones will also attract a 16 per cent tax charge under the VAT Act 2013, signalling that their prices will rise by a similar margin.
Currently, Kenya has a low level of savings mainly because there are very few people who have steady incomes that are large enough to allow for more income other than for survival.
While the salaries of these few workers also have to be shared with other dependants, which further reduces savings, millions of youths have no jobs while millions of workers are living on starvation wages that cannot now enable them to live from hand to mouth.
In fact Kenya is slowly becoming one big prison where millions are threatened with death because there is no food to eat, especially poor Kenyan workers and millions of unemployed youths who can no longer put food on the table.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
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– – – – – – – – – – –
By: Pierluigi Paganini
Introduction
In recent months, the world-wide security community has discovered many cyber espionage campaigns that hit governments, intelligence agencies and private industry. The majority of them were related to state-sponsored hackers, while others were organized by groups of cyber criminals having obtaining access in order to resell sensitive information and intellectual property.
There is no specific area of the globe subject to the majority of cyber espionage attacks. Typically, they center on the most technologically advanced countries: the US, Japan and Russia, mostly. But a good number of operations have also been detected in problematic regions like the Middle East as well.
The technologies used to spy on victims, and the motivations behind them vary. Network surveillance appliances, communication cracking techniques, malware and “social network poisoning” are just a few of the methods adopted for political, economic or criminal intents. Profit, power and protest are the main motivations behind the attacks, radically affecting a user’s approach to the web and its perception of security.
Cybercrime groups, governments, and groups of hacktivists tend to lean toward the spread of malicious agents that have the capacity to silently infiltrate their targets, stealing confidential information from them. The Chinese government is considered the biggest aggressor in cyber espionage, while US networks are the privileged targets of cyber attacks that hit every sector, from media to military.
A report published in 2012 by the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission revealed that “U.S. industry and a range of government and military targets face repeated exploitation attempts by Chinese hackers, as do international organizations and nongovernmental groups including Chinese dissident groups, activists, religious organizations, rights groups, and media institutions.”
“In 2012, Chinese state-sponsored actors continued to exploit U.S. government, military, industrial, and nongovernmental computer systems,”
The report revealed that Chinese cyber exploitation capabilities last year were “improving significantly.” But while the US has as many enemies as allies, all of us in the cyber era are potential victims. The number of state-sponsored attacks is increasing in impressive ways, due to the commitment of governments to cyber technology.
According to the last report of F-Secure related to H2 2012, one of the most interesting phenomena observed in the period is the changing of techniques for cyber espionage campaigns. To this point, almost all recorded corporate espionage cases were based on using specially-crafted documents containing a malware payload; meanwhile, in Q4, the attackers have started to exploit vulnerabilities in in web browsers and browser plugins.
The consolidated technique known as the ‘watering hole‘ attack was the most efficient for cyber spies, capable of infecting every visitor of a particular website compromised for the campaign.
“The rise of web-based attacks in corporate espionage raises two points: first, this trend means that any corporation with an online presence that serves such potentially ‘interesting’ targets may be at risk of unwittingly serving as an attack conduit, and secondly; obviously, such organizations must now find a way to mitigate such a risk, in order to protect themselves and their clients.”
Figure 1 – Waterering Hole attacks (F-Secure)
Every company that manages online resources must be aware of this technique of attack. Defending against watering hole attacks does not require additional defense systems, save for attacks that exploit zero-day vulnerabilities against which a multi layered security approach is necessary.
Cyber espionage Statistics
Estimating the real impact of cyber espionage on the global economy is quite impossible, due to the difficulty in identifying the majority of cyber attacks accounted for in each sector.
NSA Director General Keith Alexander called cyber-espionage “the greatest transfer of wealth in history.“Symantec places the cost of intellectual property theft for U.S. economy at $250 billion a year, with cybercrime a further $114 billion annually. Meanwhile, McAfee provides an estimate encompassing global remediation costs to total a staggering $1 trillion per annum.
The UK Cabinet Office reports intellectual property theft and industrial espionage costs of £16.8 billion in 2012. The 2012 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) reported 855 security breach incidents in industrial and corporate networks, totaling 174 million compromised records across the US, UK, Holland, Ireland and Australia. Of these 855 incidents investigated by the DBIR, 92% went undiscovered until an external party revealed them.
The figures provided are very troubling. While enormous, we must remain conscious that the true extent of cyber-espionage is incalculable. Private companies and governments often do not report losses because in many cases, they aren’t able to detect the attacks. When the cyber espionage campaigns are discovered, information on them may be kept secret for fear of brand and/or reputation damage, company devaluation and loss of public confidence.
In many cases, estimates provided on the impact of cyber espionage don’t include the cost of defense systems deployed (and eluded by the cyber threats), as well as the cost of compensation and remediation actions of the victims.
Case Studies: Operations Aurora, The Elderwood project, Flame and Red October
If you ask a security expert to provide some examples of the most interesting cyber espionage campaigns in the history, you will probably hear about some of the following cases:
Campaign Name Description
Operation Aurora Operation Aurora was a cyber attack first publicly disclosed by Google on January 2010. It began in mid-2009 and continued through the end of the year.Google revealed that the sophisticated attacks originated in China, they were well-resourced and consistent with an advanced persistent threat attack.The attacks were aimed at dozens of organizations operating in various sectors, including Adobe Systems, Juniper Networks, Yahoo, Symantec, Northrop Grumman, Morgan Stanley and Dow Chemical.
The Elderwood project In September 2012, Symantec detected attacks that were part of a cyber espionage campaign called the “Elderwood Project.” Their execution exploited various 0-day vulnerabilities in many large-use software including IExplorer and Adobe Flash Player. Symantec declared that some of the exploits had been realized from knowledge of a stolen source code, assuming a link with the known operation, Aurora. The attacks implemented “watering hole” techniques to infect the victims with malware, injecting malicious code onto the public web pages of sites that the targets visited.
Flame The Flame campaign was discovered in May 2012 by Kaspersky Labs. The nature of the systems targeted and geographic distribution of the malware (the Middle East), combined with the high-level of sophistication led security experts to believe that it was developed by a foreign state, intent on hitting a specific country in the region. Flame is a complex malware, designed with the primary intent to create a comprehensive cyber espionage tool kit.
Red October Most recently, the Red October campaign has been revealed by Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research & Analysis Team. The investigation began after several attacks hit computer networks of various international diplomatic service agencies. This was a large-scale cyber espionage operation conducted to acquire sensible information from diplomatic, governmental and scientific research organizations in many countries; most of them in Eastern Europe, former USSR states and countries in Central Asia.Unlike previous cyber espionage campaigns, Red October has targeted devices, including enterprise network equipment and mobile equipment (Windows Mobile, iPhone, Nokia). It hijacked files from removable disk drives, stole e-mail databases from local Outlook storage or remote POP/IMAP servers and siphoned files from local network FTP servers.Most troubling was evidence collected that demonstrated the campaign began in 2007 and is still active. During the last 5 years, a huge quantity of data collected (including serv
ice credentials) has been reused in later attacks.
Reading the list of cases, one observes that many cyber espionage campaigns remained undetected for a long time. Resourceful attackers in fact used, in many cases, zero-day vulnerabilities that allowed them to elude detection by principal defense systems. In some instances, the hackers have stolen documents and sensitive information for years, changing the operative mode over time. This particularity led investigators to believe that the campaigns were organized and managed by groups of professionals possessing a variety of skills, including research capabilities to uncover and exploit unknown vulnerabilities.
On the Elderwood operation, Orla Cox, a senior manager at Symantec’s security response division, reported that it has uncovered at least eight zero-day vulnerabilities since late 2010, and four since last spring. She said:
“We were amazed when Stuxnet used four zero-days, but this group has been able to discover eight zero-days. More, the fact that they have prepared [their attacks] and are ready to go as soon as they have a new zero-day, and the speed with which they use these zero-days, is something we’ve not seen before.”
Symantec produced a detailed analysis of the phenomenon, stating:
“This group is focused on wholesale theft of intellectual property and clearly has the resources, in terms of manpower, funding, and technical skills, required to implement this task,”
“The group seemingly has an unlimited supply of zero-day vulnerabilities.”
The level of sophistication of the attacks, the targets chosen and abilities shown by the attackers suggest the commitment of a foreign government. Moreover, security experts believe that in many cases, the campaigns are linked each other, citing the case of Operation Aurora and the Elderwood project. With a majority of attacks linked to state-sponsored actors capable of organizing so complex an operation, the investigation on Red October revealed the possible involvement of Russian RBN, long considered a cybercrime outfit capable of providing an array of malicious services, including phishing, DDoS, malware hosting, gambling and child pornography.
Figure 2 – Elderwood project global detections
Cyber espionage and private businesses
Small business is the most vulnerable to cyber espionage. It represents an attractive target, due the lack of security mechanisms and processes as well as – in many cases – the direct relationship between enterprises and governments. In recent years, the number of attacks against government contractors has increased. A cyber attack against a subcontractor is easy to realize, as the line of defense penetrated is often fragile, allowing the attackers to acquire sensitive information from targets of interest.
Last year, Trend Micro reported an increase of focused attacks. Hundreds of millions threats were blocked from infecting small businesses, but large companies proved equally vulnerable, having been hit as part of the IXSHE campaign.
A recent study on cyber-espionage has demonstrated that more than 200 families of malware have been designed and used to spy on government and corporate representatives.We have assisted the diffusion of new agents that work in botnet architectures, as new variants – designed especially for mobile devices – are specifically developed for selected targets.
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The primary intent of cyber espionage is to steal classified information from government agencies or trade secrets from corporations. This situation can be extremely dangerous for the economy of a company, as well as that of the overall country. As governments and businesses alike are motivated to reduce the technological gap with their competitors, it’s clear how diffused the phenomenon is.
Cyber espionage can have a devastating effect on the social fabric of a nation as well as on the actions of every private company. It is sneaky and silent: unlike other crimes, it may be conducted for years without the victim being aware of it with serious consequences. This happened in the case of Nortel, a company which ended up in bankruptcy due to the theft of company secrets.
Last year, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive published a report to Congress, presenting a frightening picture of the degree to which other countries use cyber espionage to attempt to gain business and industrial secrets from US companies. The biggest cyber-espionage threats against American businesses come from China and Russia. These states engage in deliberate efforts to obtain sensitive business and technology information. The report concludes that China and Russia will “remain aggressive and capable collectors of sensitive US economic information and technologies, particularly in cyberspace.”
“National boundaries will deter economic espionage less than ever as more business is conducted from wherever workers can access the Internet,””The globalization of the supply chain for new—and increasingly interconnected—IT products will offer more opportunities for malicious actors to compromise the integrity and security of?these devices.”
The document called the Chinese government a “persistent collector”: the most active one, while depicting Russia’s intelligence services as conducting a range of activities to collect economic information and technology from US targets.
The increased number of malwares developed by governments to spy on their adversaries (such as Flame, Gauss and Duqu, as well as the recent “Operation Beebus” campaign) demonstrate the high interest of intelligence agencies to implement these methods to acquire restricted information.
Recently, MI5 issued 300 warning letters to UK business leaders highlighting the risk of “electronic espionage” from Chinese organizations. MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans declared that an “astonishing[ly]” high level of cyber-espionage campaign target Western countries on an almost industrial scale.”
The number of corporate victims underscores a troubling trend: criminals aiming to steal corporate secrets and intellectual property with the intent to benefit in economic terms. The information leaked is usually resold to competing companies and governments interested in strategic know-how.
We must distinguish two scenarios:
Cybercriminals steal information to perpetrate cyber fraud: spreading malware to steal a user’s credentials for banking and payment platforms.
Cybercriminals use technology to acquire sensible information to sell to highest bidder.
Uri Rivner, head of new technologies at RSA, is convinced that we are in the age of cyber espionage. Criminals steal trade secrets from other nations and companies for their own benefit. Consider another phenomenon: the impressive growth of internet availability in Asia Pacific, which has brought to this part of the world an increase of cybercrime and in particular of cyber espionage.
In this area, there is a growing demand for information technology that is often vulnerable to all sorts of cyber attack. These conditions make the market attractive to criminal organizations in the absence of effective regulations that often allow crimes to go unpunished.
The web is a jungle where it is increasingly difficult to defend our identity and resources. Rik Ferguson, director of security research and communication, Trend Micro declared:
“The reason why criminals are focusing their attacks on stealing personal data is simple. It’s the sheer volume of people working from multiple devices that leaves them vulnerable to attacks,”
“While Trend Micro has been integral in working with authorities to break up a number of cybercriminal rings over the last year, these cybercriminals have acquired new techniques and tools from collaborating with one another to accelerate their ‘industry.’ The fact is: business is booming for cybercrime and everyone needs to take notice.”
In the face of these ongoing threats, government agencies are defining best practices to reduce the risk of exposure to these attacks. NIST has recently made public their Draft Special Publication 800-83 (SP) Revision 1,Guide to Malware Incident Prevention and Handling for Desktops and Laptops. Malware is considered the most common external threat to personal computers, causing widespread damage and disruption and necessitating extensive recovery efforts within most organizations.
The publication provides recommendations for improving an organization’s malware incident prevention measures, while giving extensive recommendations for enhancing an organization’s existing incident response capability. These approaches seek to better handle malware incidents, particularly widespread ones.
Though cyber espionage as such is not considered one of the main activities of hacktivists, thoughtful security experts don’t rule out the possibility. Groups such as Anonymous could easily adopt cyber espionage techniques to disclose sensitive information as a means of expressing dissent against a government or the policy of a private company.
When cyber espionage is deployed in the private sector (where companies spy on competitors, as well as their own employees, to capture vital information or to avoid unauthorized diffusion of confidential data), they acquire products from software outfits specializing in cyber espionage. The tools may be designed for justifiable purposes, such as supporting investigations and preventing of crime and terrorism. But too easily, they can be utilized by private businesses to undercut competitors, as well as by governments, in the bloodthirsty tracking and persecution of dissidents.
Social Media and cyber espionage
So far, this article has focused on cyber espionage based on the spread of malicious agents to gather confidential information. Also of great interest is cyber espionage as spread through social media. By accessing a social network profile, it is possible to acquire a lot of information on the victim; their relations; participation in events and discussions related to specific professional areas. The information gleaned could provide the basis for other types of attacks, as well as for a large cyber espionage campaign. By analyzing the relationships of a victim, it is possible to discover past experiences and use the data to create fake accounts, damaging their reputation and poisoning their professional network.
Starting with the assumption that the internet (and in particular, the social network) lacks a coherent and safe digital identity management, last year, I introduced the concept of social network poisoning: applying strategies designed to make knowledge related to a profile and its relationships unreliable. The application of this on a large scale could lead to the collapse of Social Networking, exposing members to the risks of cyber espionage and other cybercrime such as identity theft.
In the same way as “route poisoning,” this “poisoning action,” conducted with the aim of polluting the contents of social network profiles, typically introduces artifacts into existing real relationships, thus making the information unreliable. The result is the failure of the chain of trust which all social networks are based on, in order not to allow search engines specifically developed to retrieve information of any kind relating to a particular profile.
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The principal espionage techniques implemented through social media platform are:
Replacement of identity, or the ability to impersonate another user, using a wide variety of social engineering intelligence tactics.
Simulation of identity, creating a false profile, which does not correspond to any existing person, for malicious purposes or simply to remain anonymous.
Building of personal /social bots , creating a large number of fake profiles (e.g. millions of fake profiles) managed by machines, able to interact with real users in a way likely, thus changing the “sentiment” and “conversation” on a large-scale, as well as altering all the social graphs and precluding meaningful correlations on the data.
black curation: the use of real (or fictitious) user’s “holes” to speak on topics of which you want to change the meaning, or to create new ones ad-hoc, in analogy to the black SEO (search engine optimization) already use on search engines.
The social networks are excellent instruments to conduct cyber espionage campaigns while gathering information on targets. For this reason, it is strongly suggested that you consider carefully which profiles to add to our network, recognizing the possibility that some of them have been already compromised. This gives cyber criminals or spies the possibility of accessing information shared in the profile.
The intelligence industry in the west is still too vulnerable to all kinds of attacks, so it is absolutely necessary to define cyber strategies to deal with incidents like those described.
Last year, the impressive growth of state-sponsored attacks aimed at stealing information (to give economic, political and military advantages) famously included the cyber espionage campaign against NATO’S most senior commander, using the Facebook platform.
Chinese spies set up a fake Facebook account in the name of American Admiral James Stavridis, enticing his colleagues to “friend” him and thus divulge their own personal information. In the attack’s second phase, Senior British military officers and Ministry of Defence officials accepted “friend requests” from the bogus account.
With this attack successfully completed, it became possible to steal sensitive information like private email accounts, photos and messages, as well as uncover his network of friends. Similar incidents are troubling, and show how even the higher echelons of strategic commands may be vulnerable, too.
If you think the information uncovered in this way is unimportant, you are mistaken. Let’s think about how it can be used to find photos of a victim’s residence, or determine his location at a given time. Further, with the knowledge of their private email account, it is possible to target people close to victims who may be misled by fake mails.
Of course, similar operations are hampered by the controls enacted by the managers of social networks, in collaboration with major institutions and law enforcement. The stakes are high and control of social networks is strategic. Many agencies and law enforcement agencies like the FBI are working to prevent such crimes. They’ve commissioned the development of complex analysis systems that monitor the powerful networks. Intelligence agencies are aware that social networks and forums are exceptional instruments for information gathering and to measure the global sentiment on every kind of argument; political as well as social.
What is the future of cyber espionage?
The relentless spread of high-tech devices into our lives will sustain the practice of cyber espionage. Mobile and social networks are the platforms that attract the interest of attackers most of all, due to the large quantity of user’s information they manage. New advanced toolkits are sold daily via the underground, usable to exploit vulnerabilities inside victim’s machine with the primary purpose of installing malware that can gather confidential information.
From a government perspective, state-sponsored research aims to produce new technologies, able to infiltrate common-use objects. The most innovative ones relate to the use of electromagnetic waves that could spy on a targeted network or interfere with communications, altering the content of transmission (for example, introducing a malware in it).
That is the future of cyber espionage: the possibility of interfering with targeted systems remotely, acquiring sensitive information silently. Another interesting field of research is related to the “intelligence of things”: the possibility of exploiting the computational capabilities contained in every object surrounding us, interacting with users maintaining a huge quantity of information. Mobile devices, but really, any kind of appliance present in our home (such as smart-TV and gaming console) can be used to spy on the user. Governments have instituted an array of projects to exploit the vulnerabilities.
The greater the technological component of our lives, the greater the potential for cyber attacks.
In this policy brief, 34 organizations that collaborate to achieve tax justice provide recommendations to the G20 and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the Action Plan presented by the OECD, in July 2013, to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).
The OECD’s BEPS Action Plan is a welcome and long overdue step forward. The OECD – and also the G20 and the G8 – has clearly acknowledged that base erosion is a serious problem that threatens the integrity of the Corporate Income Tax, and damages governments, individual taxpayers and some businesses.
The BEPS Action Plan provides a unique opportunity to foster fundamental changes to prevent double non-taxation of income effectively, as well as to prevent cases of no or low taxation associated with transnational corporations’ practices that artificially segregate taxable income from the activities that generate it.
If successful, the project will help governments tackle tax avoidance and evasion by transational corporations. However, strong political courage will be required to define, implement and enforce reforms to counter base erosion effectively.
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013
Nyairo bw’Ondieki from Kisii Diocese has written long e-mail following my breaking news on replacement of the Italian prelate who was Pope Benedict’s righthand man in the Vatican during his scandal-dogged papacy, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Bw’Ondieki would like to know what the Institute is for Religious Works and its role in Vatican Bank and the role of Secretary of State to the Holy Father. He would also like to know whether Pope Francis will able to clean up the mess at the Vatican even after Bertone’s exit.
The Institute for the Works of Religion, in Italian: Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) is another name for the Vatican Bank, a privately held institute located inside Vatican City and run by an advisory board who reports directly to a committee of cardinals and the Pope. It was founded by Pope Pius XII in June 1942.
Its role is quite complicated since its assets are not considered property of the Holy See, nor it is overseen by the Prefecture for the economic Affairs of the Holy See. Instead it is listed in the Annuario Pontificio not under “Holy See” or “Vatican City State”.
It was only after the pages on religious institutes, and cultural institutes, it was then placed with charitable foundations. Not until 2012 did the bank give a short presentation on its operations, following the final years of Benedict’s papacy which were overshadowed by scandal, most prominently the so-called “Vatileaks” affair that depicted the Vatican’s swollen bureaucracy as a hotbed of conspiracy and cronyism.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone who was appointed by Benedict in 2006 to occupy a role often described as the Vatican’s prime minister, was blamed for much of the papacy’s disfunction and poor decision-making. Benedict came under pressure from some senior clerics to fire Bertone, but refused.
Bertone has been replaced by Archbishop Pietro Parolin, a career diplomat with a reputation for competence and hard work. He is only 58, the youngest man to hold the office for decade, and his promotion makes him a very strong candidate to be the next Italian pope.
He is a well-prepared bishop with a great capacity to work. He is a very intelligent man with extensive experience in the Church’s international affairs.
During his time as apostolic nuncio to Venezuela, Archbishop Parolin was a great promoter of dialogue. He took part in the meetings between the government of Venezuela and the bishops’ conference, which were very positive for the country.
Archbishop Parolin would continue to carry out his duties in Venezuela until mid-October, when he will move to the Vatican to assume his duties from the outgoing secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
On your second question, the Secretary of State of His Holiness the Pope, commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See Secretariat of State, also the Pope’s advisor. In political term, he is the deputy pope.
The office traces its origins to that of secretary intimus, created by Pope Leo X in the early 16th century to handle correspondence with the diplomatic missions of the Holy See, which were just beginning to become permanent postings instead of missions sent on particular occasions.
Historically, most of the secretaries have been Italians. Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death.
Apart from Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) who was a French Cardinal who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1965 to 1967, Prefect of the congregation for Council Congregation from 1967 to 1969, Vatican Secretary of State from 1969 to 1979, the rest were Italians.
Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinals Secretary of State later on. He was the most important figure behind the Vatican’s efforts to deal with the persecution of the Church in the nations of the Soviet bloc after the Second Vatican Council.
Angelo Sodano (born 23 November 1927) was an Italian Cardinal who has been Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2005. He was Cardinal Secretary of State from 1990 to 2006, under both popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
Outgoing Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, S.D.B. (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian. The incoming Secretary, Pietro Parolin (born 17 January 1955) is an Italian. Previously, he had served from 2002 as Undersecretary for Relations with States, the highest position in the Holy See’s diplomatic service after those of Cardinal Secretary of State and Secretary for Relations with States. On 31 August 2013 he was named Cardinal Secretary of State, effective on 15 October 2013.
On your third question whether Pope Francis will manage to clean up the mess at the Vatican even with the exit of Bertone, in my own opinion I would say yes, he will. The fact that he formed new commission of inquiry into the troubled Vatican bank is already step ahead.
He has also hired Swiss-born anti-money laundering expert Rene Bruelhart to lead the Holy See’s push for greater financial transparency.
Some of the immediate work of the new team is to look how Monsignor Nunzio Scarano withdrew more than a half-million euros in charitable donations from the bank without any flags being raised, walked out of Vatican City with the cash, and then used the money to pay off his personal mortgage. He was the Vatican’s chief accountant.
Scarano, 61, who worked at Deutsche bank before taking ecclesiastical vows, is accused of fraud, corruption, and other charges, as part of a wider investigation into the IOR Vatican Bank. His nickname in Vatican circles was reportedly ‘Don 500 Euros’
The investigation concerns transactions he made while an official at the Administration for the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, in 2009. He reportedly took 560,000 euros ($729,000) in cash out of his personal IOR bank account and carried it out of the Vatican and into Italy to help pay off a mortgage on his Salerno home.
The case of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano is just one example. Francis announced the creation of a commission of inquiry to look into the IOR’s activities and legal status “to allow for a better harmonization with the universal mission of the Apostolic See.
The fact that it was the second time in as many weeks that Francis intervened to get information out of the IOR, a secretive institution best known for the scandals it has caused the Vatican, is a reason enough that the Pope is serious.
On June 15, he filled a key vacancy in the bank’s governing structure, tapping a trusted prelate to be his eyes inside the bank. He named five people to the commission, including two Americans: Monsignor Peter Wells, a top official in the Vatican secretariat of state, and Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard law professor, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and current president of a pontifical academy.
Francis opted to appoint an American because American cardinals were among the most vocal in demanding a wholesale reform of the Vatican bureaucracy and the Vatican bank.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
President of Liberia and President of African Development Bank set new course for prosperity in Africa’s fragile states
MONROVIA, Liberia, September 2, 2013/–Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, and Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank Group (http://www.afdb.org/en/), launched a special high-level panel on fragile states in Monrovia on September 2, 2013. The panel seeks to answer the question, “How can we truly build peace and set a course for prosperity in Africa’s fragile states?”
Logo : http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/african-development-bank-2.png
Conflict and fragility are major constraints to Africa’s development. While the African continent generally has enjoyed an economic growth rate of 5% over the last decade, fragile countries and those in conflict have not benefitted. Globally, GDP per capita is $945, but in fragile states, it hovers at only about a third of that, around $333. Addressing this challenge is a top priority for the African Development Bank.
“With the help of President Ellen Johson Sirleaf and a group of experts, we are crafting a new approach to help such countries to recover much faster and to minimize the impact on the neighbourhood,” said Kaberuka in establishing the panel.
The 60 participants at the launch included 13 ministries of finance and planning, and senior representatives from international organizations and civil society. They came from the Central African Republic, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tomé, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Timor-Leste, and Togo.
From 2009-2011, the African Development Bank approved $2.5 billion for fragile states. It is currently expanding its strategy for engaging in fragile states. The high level panel on fragile states guides that work.
Members of the High Level Panel
Chair: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia
Sarah Cliffe, Special Representative & Director, World Development Report-Conflict, Security & Development, United Nations
Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, Deputy Director-General for field and partnerships, International Labour Organization
Geraldine Frasier-Moleketi, Special Envoy on Gender, African Development Bank
Callisto Madavo, Professor, Georgetown University
Greg Mills, Director of Brenthurst Foundation
Rakiya Omaar, Director of African Rights
Dame Barbara Stocking, President, Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge
Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Agenda and further information available at:
http://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/high-level-panel-on-fragile-states/
Media contact: Sunita Pitamber via s.pitamber@afdb.org or mikias@coxsi.com
There is this time I walked into this shoe shop in Dublin, Ireland. It was winter and cold as a hyena’s snout. I had on this hoodie with “Safaricom” emblazoned on its front in green. So, there I was checking out these shoe when I heard someone ask, “Wewe ni Mkenya?” I looked up to find this grinning miro guy. I said, yes, I was Kenyan. Boy, was he happy to make my acquaintance! He bear hugged me, which is something I try to reserve for the opposite sex. He then rattled on, asking about home and how it was “back there.” Asking about politics and things. He told me he watched Citizen news online most of the time, but that still left him shelled with homesickness. He lived in Northern Ireland, which is really next to the end of the world, and he is probably the only black guy for thousands of miles before you run into a Nigerian.
I asked him when was the last time he was home and he said 11years ago. That depressed me more than the weather. I asked him what he missed most about being home and he surprised me by saying, “attending funerals for close ones.”
He said he had missed his father’s funeral (it was cheaper to send money for burial), something that seemed like a monkey on his back. In fact, he had missed tons of funerals for close relatives. And he missed Mukimo (he was okuyu). On a light note I asked him if he had a kiosk in Belfast and he laughed, that distinct Kenyan laugh that starts from the diaphragm and doesn’t leave it. We chatted for a bit, in Swahili, mine markedly tattered.
I remember feeling such gutting sympathy for him when we parted. Him, out there, in that bleeding cold that makes your nails pale and your tongue blue, so far away from home, wondering who else will be buried in his absence. Wondering when he would next feel the balminess of the African sun on his forehead and the warmth of our own soil under his feet. It must be tough, this life in absentia. I would die of depression. No really, I would.
It’s easy to feel sympathy for fellows living abroad, right up until they land at JKIA, then the bottom falls off. Let’s first talk figures before my spiel.
Do you know how much guys living abroad ploughed into the economy in the first five months of this year? Ksh45 billion! That’s a lot of dough, about 10% of what Kamwana is bringing back from the East! And we appreciate this contribution, guys. We could use every yen, dollar and rupee we can lay our hands on now, especially during these trying moments that some of our governors have decided to conduct county matters from plush hotels where they live.
But your financial contribution notwithstanding, we need to straighten out some issues, guys. It’s about your conduct when you come back home for vacation.
First off, please don’t whine about how nothing works in this country. Nobody wants to host a whiner. Thing is, traffic cops will control traffic at traffic lights that work. That’s just how it is. Service in eateries might not be as swift as it is in Toronto. That’s just how it is. Matatus are a law onto themselves. That’s just how it is. It’s illegal to burn music for local artists, so don’t ask us to. Oh, and Kalamashaka doesn’t sing no more.
Secondly. You know, we love having you back home. And we don’t mind taking you to look for artefacts at Masai Market. But can you imagine that since you left life also happened to us? Hard to believe, I know. We got and changed jobs. We dated and we got married. We got kids. Most of us grew up and that came with different priorities. Life is a moving wheel. I know it might seem like we have lots of time on our hands back here but we don’t. We can get very busy between spending time in traffic jams and Facebooking.
And because there is work and there is school and there is family we can’t take you out partying on the daily. And just because you are back in the country after 10 years doesn’t mean all these things stop and we have to lay banana leaves on your path to Mercury Lounge. Or fetch you coffee. You are on holiday, we aren’t. If we have time, we will take you to do your rounds. But it’s not your right, so don’t sulk and brood and feel unappreciated.
Secondly, the legal tender of Kenya is Kenyan Shillings. Not the dollar. Not the Euro. Don’t go to Mama Oliech’s for fish and when the bill lands you ask the poor waitress if they can accept dollars! That waitress is from Kochia, the dollar is a currency she isn’t well acquainted with. And FYI, the only people who accept dollars or rands are the forex bureaus.
Talking of going out. A few years back my cousin landed in the country from Jersey (you should have heard how he pronounces “Jersey”). This time I took him to Havana in Westlands and he kept asking the deejay to play some song by T-Pain. I wasn’t that acquainted to T-Pain at that time because he was new-ish in the scene and I’m not exactly hot for that genre of music. You should have seen how after harassing the deejay he would come back to the seat complaining how the deejay wasn’t with it because he didn’t have a particular song by T-Pain. And so the whole whole night it was T-Pain this, T-Pain that. What a royal pain!
And guys, if you are going to have the deejay play your favourite jams at least buy him a drink, will ya? And be sure to use Kenyan Shillings, if that’s no trouble.
Then there is politics. Isn’t it flattering that every guy in diaspora has a solution to our political problems? And this is only because, I suspect, they have read Obama’s “Audacity of Hope.” Guys, like Mikhail Gorbachev once said, if you really want to change things back home, you got to go back home. You just can’t change things during your tea break at Starbucks. I‘m afraid it’s a bit more complicated than that. This animal called African politics needs time and energy, not a quote from Malcolm X.
It’s not like we are sitting here allowing the politicians to shaft us without as much as dinner first. It’s not that we have become so politically numb and inept. No, we make noise. On twitter. We stoke Boniface Mwangi’s fires on Facebook then we go on Youtube to see if he survived the fracas. We have realised that the only way we can fight these politicians and their endless plunder and greed is through the mighty power of Retweet! So don’t judge us, not until you walk 140 characters in our tweets.
I’m overeating? Just look at the Facebook pages of Kenyans in diaspora, with their breathless streams of political consciousness, tinged with Machiavellian teachings hoping that will change the political panorama. They won’t, guys. Because politicians don’t read. And the few who do don’t care. Your tweets will drown in the churning sea of social media melee, never to be seen by them. And their social media tools are managed by busybodies that only retweet comments that favour them. And so the most they can do, in response to your Facebook updates is to poke you. And you don’t want a politician poking you, trust me. And if you don’t believe me, ask…
And why are you guys shocked at poverty in Kenya? Poverty is the same as you left it. Poverty is still spelled the same way you left it. This is Africa; some folk eat only one meal, yes, even here in the city. And they aren’t on a diet; they just can’t afford to eat square meals. Fast food? Do you know that KFC is a luxury back here? Yes, back here it’s the hoity-toity who throng there, with their iPhones and their monstrous Guci shades coifed in Gussii-land. Poverty is part of this social fabric, even the middle-class are poor, only their poverty is the worse kind.
You know what we secretly laugh at behind your backs, dear Diasporas? When you come visiting and you tell us smugly, “ You know, back at home…” Back at home? Excuse us. United States of America is not your home, son! Your home is Nyansore, South Mugirango. Isn’t that where the remains of your dear mother lies? I’m sorry, was your grumps buried in Brookhaven, Atlanta? You are called Moguche, how many native Londoners are called Moguche? And please don’t ever say “you Kenyans,” That’s just racist.
And here is one of my favourites. I had this retarded conversation one day with some diaspora.
Kenyan from Texas (KT): Biko, I want to go to the Barclays in Loita Street, is it safe?
Me: What is safe, Barclays? Yes, it is.
KT: No, I mean Loita Street.
Hehe. Did he just ask if Loita Street is safe? Tell me, how can I be so wrong about my friends?
No, I told him, Loita Street is not safe. Get police escort. Hell wear a Flak jacket and lower your hat to your face in case they suspect that you are a foreigner because your eyebrows are different from ours. Hire security if you can (but not G4S). Loita Street is very dangerous. People get killed there every day, especially Kenyans visiting from abroad. And don’t wear your fancy cologne; it might draw attention to yourself.
Doesn’t that just make you sad? Here is a guy who grew up in Umoja and shopped at Mutindwa scared of being mobbed in Loita Street. A guy who lived in Kenya for 27yrs – taking matatus and eating roasted maize by the roadside- before he flew out. A typical Kenyan. This is the same fellow who asks you if Loita Street is safe because he now has an iPhone 5? While odiero backpackers are fearlessly trolling downtown Nairobi this guy is debating if he should leave his damned wallet at home before venturing into town?! If he should remove his watch before going to Kimathi Street?! Do they imagine we are super humans not to get killed by the numerous, mines, IED’s and snipers outside Loita Street? Do we, as Kenyans, have a special contract with God?
One last thing. Let’s be honest. We know you aren’t as loaded as you once was. No, we do. Central Bank Of Kenya told us. The diaspora remittance to Kenya declined by 9.4 per cent in June from Ksh 9.66billion to Ksh8.75billion in May owing to inflows from North America, Kenya’s biggest source of the dollar injections. Life, indeed, is hard everywhere. If Detroit declared itself bankrupt, really, things are hairy. Europe isn’t any better financially as we speak. So no need to keep appearances. It’s unnecessary. When you come down don’t drag us to the champagne bar at Sankara and get mild dementia after one look at their menu. And don’t call Sankara thieves. They aren’t. Sankara isn’t McDonalds. Shit is expensive there.
This city has its owners, mate. They dine at the Tribe Hotel and sleep in Laikipia. They never look at the bill after their meal and they can put three actuarial science students in a room with all their money and those kids will grow beards before they finish counting that cheese. So Sankara guys aren’t stealing from you, it’s just a different pond for a different kettle of fish. Try Tamasha, they have a happy hour. Look, we are just happy you are home, we don’t care much that you can splash money because we know it wasn’t handed to you easy back there.
And one last thing. You couldn’t have schooled in Durban, South Africa and picked an American accent. It’s unfathomable and ludicrous. We can understand you having an Indian accent because Durban has the largest population of Indians outside India, but they don’t speak like Americans last time I was there. And if you came back to Kenya from abroad more than 3 years ago you can’t prefix all your statements with “When I was in the UK…” It negates everything you will say after.
I love Kenyans in diaspora because of their uncanny ability to summon amnesia. You guys forget fast. You forget so quickly where you came from. You forget how the machinery back here runs. You forget that this is motherland and no matter how broken this place is, this place still remains your place.
Yours truly,
Bikozulu.
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– See more at: http://bikozulu.co.ke/a-letter-to-kenyans-abroad/#sthash.MjmRBLLd.dpuf
The policy brief builds upon the analysis of policy issues and the formulation of recommendations emanating from the Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) Zipping Finance and Farming in Africa Conference held in Kampala, Uganda in June 2011. The document provides a set of policy recommendations designed to help promote the expansion of agricultural finance in Africa. The brief focuses on specific agricultural finance policy measures that can make the biggest difference in expanding access to financial services for producers, agribusinesses and other agricultural value chain participants within the African context.
Consequences are real………Public Trustee must be accountable.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson &
Executive Director for
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
email: jbatec@yahoo.com
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Why Uhuru’s New York visit will be watched keenly
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta (left) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Mr. Kenyatta urged Kenyan and Chinese businesspeople to adopt strategies that will boost the economy and grow jobs in the two countries. PHOTO | AFP
In Summary
Events of the last six months have seen Mr Kenyatta’s name feature prominently at the United Nations Security Council as the Kenyan government sought to have the International Criminal Court (ICC) criminal proceedings against him and two others terminated.
The subsequent events – like Obama’s ‘snubbing’ of Kenya during his recent African tour – have been seen by many as a confirmation that indeed Mr Johnie Carson, the former Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, was speaking for president Obama when he said that choices have consequences.
UHURU KENYATTA
By B M J Muriithi
In the next three weeks, even before President Uhuru Kenyatta recovers from his Chinese trip jetlag, all eyes will be on him once again as he makes his maiden cross-Atlantic voyage to the United States – his first such trip since becoming Kenya’s president.
And although this will not be a state visit, his presence in New York will nevertheless draw curious glances from both friend and foe, as well as political analysts.
Speaking to the Nation by phone on Monday, Kenya’s ambassador to the UN confirmed that Mr Kenyatta will be attending this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Mr Macharia Kamau said the president will, in keeping with tradition, lead the Kenyan delegation to the summit in mid-September.
Mr Kenyatta’s visit will be a first of sorts for several reasons. First of all, it will be the first time that a Kenyan President will be attending the session as a representative of a UN-debt-free-nation. Last November, Kenya was named in the UN roll of honour as one of the member states which had cleared all their outstanding dues.
Out of 193 countries, only 31 were fully paid up and Kenya was among them. During the 2012-2013 UN financial year, Kenya paid over $51.7 million (over Sh4.2 Billion) as its contribution to the regular budget. At the time, Under-Secretary-General Yukio Takasu paid tribute to Kenya, saying the fulfillment of her financial obligations in its entirety is a clear indication of its commitment to the virtues espoused by the global organisation.
Secondly, besides making his maiden speech at the plenary session of heads of state and government, it will also be the first time that the Kenyan leader will be visiting the United States since becoming president.
Ordinarily, the visit would pass for just another African leader routinely attending the august summit. However, events of the last six months have seen Mr Kenyatta’s name feature prominently at the United Nations Security Council as the Kenyan government sought to have the International Criminal Court (ICC) criminal proceedings against him and two others terminated. For this reason alone, many world leaders who may not have met Mr Kenyatta in person will be keen to see the man who was the subject of such intense lobbying.
And then there is the not-too-cosy relationship between Mr Kenyatta and US president Barack Obama.
Although the United Nations Charter declares the UN headquarters in New York autonomous from the United States, a sitting US president is still considered the host head of state owing to the fact that the headquarters are situated on US soil.
It is expected that many will be keenly observing Mr Obama’s body language, especially should he avail a photo opportunity to Mr Kenyatta, which is something he usually does with heads of State and government on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
It will be recalled that in the run up to the last general election in Kenya, a senior official in the Obama administration made the now famous remark which was considered unsavoury by members of the Kenyatta led Jubilee coalition. The subsequent events – like Obama’s ‘snubbing’ of Kenya during his recent African tour – have been seen by many as a confirmation that indeed Mr Johnie Carson, the former Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, was speaking for president Obama when he said that choices have consequences.
It is also not lost on many that the New York visit is coming barely a month before Mr Kenyatta’s trial at the ICC opens in The Hague, slated for November 12.
In May this year, ambassador Kamau wrote a widely publicized letter to the Security Council in which he said that the Kenyatta administration feared possible chaos and violence in the country should the ICC cases go to trial. “What this delegation is asking for is the immediate termination of the case at The Hague,” the letter, stamped as confidential, said in part.
But the envoy’s efforts came a cropper as the Security Council said it can only seek a deferral and does not have the authority to order the ICC to drop a case completely. Besides, key members of the powerful body – including the US and the United Kingdom – are on record as openly opposing any move to have the cases terminated.
Should Mr Obama find a moment for a tete-a-tete with president Kenyatta, I would wish to be a fly on the wall and listen in as the latter would most likely seek an explanation as to why the former has openly endorsed his ICC indictment yet the United States is not a state party to the Rome Statute, which established the international court.
If the discussion takes that direction, I can see Mr Obama trying to change the topic and asking the Kenyan leader what he really sees when he looks East (based on a recent commentary by Mr Kenyatta in which he praised China and other countries).
After a pause, Obama will then seek to know whether the Sh425 Billion deals Kenyatta recently signed with China were tied to any human rights and democratic practice conditions.
I can see Mr Kenyatta trying to suppress an urge to tell the leader of the free world off by asking him whether the money America has continued to spend on Egypt (in excess of US$1.3 Billion annually) even long after it became crystal clear that there is little democracy to write home about in that part of the world was also pegged to such Human Rights principles.
But the son of Jomo will know better than to utter such words in the face of the son of Obama Snr. He will quickly remember that the Gikuyu have a saying which considers it the apex of bad manners to leave a mess in your bed, especially when such bed is offered to you by a man who rules a country on whose soil you stand.
BMJ MURIITHI is a Communication and International Relations major at Atlanta Metropolitan University.
Africa 50: Business as usual will not finance the infrastructure projects needed
Donald Kaberuka.
By Donald Kaberuka
Posted Saturday, August 17 2013 at 11:21
In Summary
The global economy is slowing down. The big question we need to ask is whether or not in this gloomy environment Africa can maintain the pace of the past decade.
No country in the world has been able to maintain seven per cent GPD growth and above sustainably unless the infrastructure bottleneck is overcome.
My own assessment is that Africa can still maintain the momentum if we emphasise inclusive policies.
The progress Africa has been making is in some measure a reflection of our collective efforts in our respective mandates, from peace building, entrenching governance, regional integration and financing infrastructure.
The global economy is slowing down. The big question we need to ask is whether or not in this gloomy environment Africa can maintain the pace of the past decade.
My own assessment is that Africa can still maintain the momentum if: We emphasise inclusive policies, which are not only good politics but also excellent economics; there is greater integration; and there is faster progress on global value chains.
The one thing that can really stop the recent performance in its tracks is infrastructure. No country in the world has been able to maintain seven per cent GPD growth and above sustainably unless the infrastructure bottleneck is overcome.
We are today, all sources combined, hardly able to put together $45 billion a year for infrastructure, leaving an annual gap of a similar volume. We are all doing different things in our respective regions with new initiatives and funds being created, but let us face it, there is limited additionality and no critical mass.
We have not come to a dead end, but we are at a fork in the road. The ongoing initiatives will not bring us to scale.
Business as usual will not finance our infrastructure. Our governments are doing more as they raise more revenues.
This is encouraging; many projects will still require public money, which is why greater efforts at mobilising domestic resources are key. Development partners will continue to be needed.
But the tight financial situation they face is real. Go out there and get ratings. Accessing capital markets, as many countries are doing, is commendable. More countries should get out there and get ratings, provided we can invest wisely and manage debt.
But of course there will be limits. And with the end of quantitative easing, markets at some point will be tight.
The current natural resources boom provides an opportunity for those who have them, provided the taxes and other sources of revenues due are paid. Building on our track record
in infrastructure, we at the African Development Bank have at been reflecting on how to create a vehicle to complement existing instruments.
Study after study has shown that there is a reasonable pool of savings in Africa that can help in funding our development. Those funds are typically invested in European or US paper and are available only if the business proposals are attractive.
Those managing the funds are fiduciaries and they will part with the money only on clear commercial considerations. If that is true for Africa’s pool of savings, it is also true for external savings.
There are three problems: One is the perennial problem of lack of ready-to-go projects.
Secondly is the even larger problem of finding those that are commercially viable and bankable. Lastly, there is the need for a vehicle that does the necessary risk mitigation, credit enhancement, provides investors with assurance of a good return, security and, in the case of central banks, liquidity as well.
Marine police deployed to Todonyang over insecurity
Updated Wednesday, August 21st 2013 at 13:41 GMT +3
By Lucas Ngasike
TURKANA, KENYA: The Kenya Marine police have been deployed to Todonyang border point along Lake Turkana to contain Merille militia threats on Kenya â Ethiopia border.
Turkana Police commander Emmanuel Karisa said the police unit will patrol the area to ward off Ethiopian Merille militia who recently killed 11 fishermen in Lake Turkana and stole five boats and fishing gears.
The Police commander said the officers will set up base in Todonyang.
âThey will be permanently based there to deal with Merille militia who have continued to threaten peace in the region,” Karisa said.
For the last two weeks, the heavily armed militias have crossed to the countryâs border and took 90 percent control of Lake Turkana and dominated fishing activities in the area after they sent locals fleeing for their safety.
Karisa said the marine police will also carry out their security surveillance along Lake Turkana to curb illegal incursion by the militia into Lake Turkana.
Turkana North DC Eric Wanyonyi said the Merille militias had encroached more than 14 km inside Kenyan territory at the river Omo delta in the lake where there are abundant fish stocks.
âWe will soon flush them out from Kenyan territory.We cannot condone armed foreigners crossing into the country to displace locals and take control of Lake Turkana resources,” Wanyonyi said.
The DC said they had also contacted Ethiopian authorities to restrain its people from crossing to Kenya borders with arms.
“We have made it clear to them that they should not blame us for any consequences arising from these illegal incursions,” he added.
The administrator noted that the Merille militias have occupied Kenyan territory citing Lopeilele and Apalokwang deltas which lies inside Kenyan borders.
Their days are numbered, we will soon flush them out from Kenyan waters.Infact where the militia have occupied is a fishing breeding zone which they have interfered with,” Wanyonyi lamented.
Turkana North legislator Christopher Nakuleu accused the Ethiopian authorities of allegedly arming the Militia to take control of Lake Turkana resources.
We know these rogue Merille militia are being armed by Ethiopian authorities to kill Kenyan fishermen and displace them from their homes so that they dominate fishing activities a cross Lake Turkana,” he claimed.
Kenya’s debt jumps, risks raising borrowing costs
August 21st 2013 …..11.10 a.m. 2 hrs. Ago…..
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s public debt hit 51.7 percent of national output in the year to June, official figures showed on Wednesday, up from 44.5 percent the previous year and raising questions about the likely yield required for future external borrowing.
The National Treasury said Kenya’s total public debt rose 16 percent to 1.89 trillion shillings in the fiscal year to June.
The east African nation, which plans to spend 1.6 trillion shillings in the fiscal year that began on July 1, has in the past said it aims to reduce its ratio of debt to gross domestic product from around 45 percent in the medium term.
In documents filed to the International Monetary Fund in April, the government put the net total debt to GDP ratio at around 44.5 percent at the end of 2011/12.
The latest figure means that Kenya is likely to hit the 2 trillion shilling mark for its debt in the 2013/14 fiscal budget in which the government plans to plug a deficit of 329.7 billion shillings, or 7.9 percent of GDP, from both foreign and domestic sources.
“The overall increase was attributed to a net increase in both domestic and external borrowing,” the Treasury said in its latest Quarterly Economic Bulletin.
“The increase is unsurprising given that the stabilisation in the public debt level in 2011/12 was largely achieved thanks to high inflation and strong recovery in the Kenyan shilling in late 2011 rather than through less accommodative fiscal policy,” said Mark Bohlund, economist at IHS Global Insight.
“It is still likely to aggravate concerns about longer-term public debt sustainability and thus push up the required yield on a sovereign debt issue.”
The Treasury said in June the gap would be filled by net foreign financing of 223 billion shillings and 106.7 billion net borrowing from the domestic market.
The foreign financing is due to include a debut $1 billion Eurobond the east African economy plans to issue later this year.
The rise in debt also comes at a time when the government is pushing hard to increase its revenue collection, after falling short of targets in 2012/13.
The Treasury said total revenue collected during the period was 847.22 billion shillings, against a target of 915.28 billion shillings, up from 748.17 billion shillings in 2011/12.
The government expects to raise revenues worth 1.027 trillion shillings in 2013/14.
Earlier in the year, the government faced demands for higher public sector wages and a strike by thousands of government employed teachers demanding higher housing, medical and transport allowances, while other civil servants including the police are also clamouring for higher pay.
The government met some of the teachers’ pay demands but put the rest on hold.
Bohlund said Kenya had favourable growth prospects after recent discoveries of oil and China’s pledge to invest in the country’s energy and infrastructure sectors. However, he said the country’s high budget and current account deficits put it among emerging markets that had to offer high interest rates to attract foreign lenders.
In July, Kenya’s central bank held its main lending rate at 8.5 percent.
Investigations show Kitui Deputy CID had premonition about his death
Updated Monday, August 12th 2013 at 21:08 GMT +3
Text message shows Maina could have feared for his life as a police officer is accused of killing him
By CYRUS OMBATI
Slain Kitui Deputy CID boss Zebedeo Maina could have feared for his life.
This emerged as investigations into the killing of the former head of the dreaded Kwekwe Squad were concluded with the report pointing a finger at a fellow police officer.
His colleagues revealed that Maina had sent them text messages that suggested he anticipated his death.
He had sent a message to one of them reading: “Every successful person has a painful story and to every painful story there is successful ending. No one has travelled a road of success without crossing the street of failure. God has never promised us an easy journey in life. No gain without pain. Wish you a blessed day.”
Police handling the probe into his death now plan to send their report, to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The report says Maina was shot in the back near the buttocks.
Released
Deputy Director of Police Reforms King’ori Mwangi, Head of Investigations at CID headquarters Mohamed Amin and Head of Operations Francis Njiru conducted the investigations. They interrogated a number of witnesses and police officers.
Two people who had been arrested over the shooting incident have since been released.
“It is clear that even though he denies it, the killer’s bullet was fired by one of the officers who were at the scene,” conclude the officers in their report.
The shooting has been described as a misadventure. A number of recommendations have been made to the DPP who will in the end determine if any of those named will be charged, officials said.
A test on the guns show one of them and that of Maina are the only ones that fired at the scene. Maina shot once in the air.
Maina, who led the controversial police squad at the height of a Mungiki crack-down, was shot under mysterious circumstances in Kitui town.
Unresolved deaths
He was shot as he led a team of officers to rescue a five-and-half-year-old girl in Kitui town on August 3. The girl had been kidnapped from Nairobi.
Maina joins a list of at least five other officers of the squad who have mysteriously died in the past few years. Their deaths remain unresolved.
But even in death, the mere mention of Maina’s name triggers shivers in the underworld.
He was one of the most ruthless undercover officers of his time, feared by criminals and colleagues alike.
“He was a law unto himself and even we feared him because he would not compromise with a suspect,” said a senior officer who knew him.
I was hosted at Ramogi Baraza at The Royal Media Group yesterday morning to give a progress report on how Kimisho is doing and I was impressed.
The kind of responses that we have received from yesterday has been overwhelming and very encouraging. Many people across Kenya have called seeking Membership and a few people have made it clear they want to be Members of The Kimisho Investment Club.
For the sake of all those who did not listen, we are now set.
Kimisho Community Development Network- KCDN and Kimisho Savings and Credit Co-operative Society Ltd- KSSL are now fully registered with elected officials. We are in the final stages of Registering Kimisho Investment Club- KIC.
Kimisho is founded on Three Pillars;
1 Environmental Management- where we will continue with what The Clean Kenya Campaign- TCKC has been doing across Kenya- mobilizing Kenyans to work for a Clean Kenya and The Monthly Nationwide Clean-up Campaigns,
2 Economic Empowerment- where we will be mobilizing Kenyans to pool resources together for subsidiarity and complimentarity, and
3 Poverty Eradication- where we will all join hands to help put bread on the Family Table.
And we are offering Three Basic Products to our Members namely;
1 Sacco Society- where every Member is invited to save and get loans as regulated under the Sacco Society Regulations,
2 Table Banking Units-where we have created Table Banking Units and formed our Members into Units of 9 Members with a Kimisho Unit Leader to help our local Business Communities, Youth Groups, Women Groups, Chamas and all such with revolving loans at affordable rates, and
3 Kimisho Investment Club- where serious investors converge to do their business.
In our Journey of Hope across Kenya, we realized that many Kenyans were sharing in two basic things;
1 Rising cost of Basic Items, and
2 The high cost of accessing Finance/
And we decided to act and do something.
Kimisho is open to all Kenyans of goodwill. Our Registration Fee is Kshs 500.00 payable through our KCB Mpesa Pay Bill Number 522522 to our account Number 114 2400 913. If you get the numbers wrong Kimisho will not take any responsibility on your error of omission.You are then invited to make a minimum Monthly savings of Kshs 200.00. You may decide to save more. All our Members are invited to make a voluntary Monthly Contribution of Kshs 20.00 to help run our office. This is voluntary but very mandatory on all who decide to join The Kimisho Family.
We have formally now opened our doors to willing Kenyans, so, if you like it, crown it.
Odhiambo T Oketch,
Team Leader/Secretary/ Executive Director,
KCDN, KSSL, KIC,
PO Box 47890-00100,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel; +254 724 365 557,
Email; kimishodevelopment@gmail.com komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch.blogspot.com
Mailing List; friendsofkcdn@yahoogroups.com friendsofnyanza@yahoogroups.com
WHERE IS THE TRUTH OF THE FIRE DESTROYING JOMO KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT? THIS IS A BIG PLAN FOR PASSING A WEIRD CONSIGNMENT, WHILE ALSO MAKING MONEY FROM THE TAX PAYERS AND THE INSURANCE COMPANIES, THEN FINALLY THEY GET KICKBACK FROM THEIR CHOICE OF CONTRUCTOR WHO WILL REBUILD THE AIRPORT – TAX PAYERS CARRY THE BAG.
Are Kenyans ready to go to the streets as the government seems to be on track to start misusing the tax payers on a crafted issue of hooliganism and forgery. This was a stupidly planed forgery by the goons to burn our international airport.
God wanted Kenyans to know that he can give and he can destroy anything in this world under his powers. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport became so much polarized, politicized about who is who to go through which gate, which terminal and which pavilion. The controversy started when the Executive and his administration crudely started an imagination of frustrating and destruction of the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. These obviously are the ten percent Kikuyus in the administration’s front line imagining the destruction of Odinga because they feel threatened by him. They ended up exposing themselves in the process when the fire was burning without shame. All the people in the frontline at the airport were Kikuyus. Kenyans even wondered why they had to speak in English.
THE SITTING KENYAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Tokyo embassy land. This man is one of the notorious goons that Kenya has since Independence. He knows about the racket of the Tokyo land. These people are thieves. They stole the tax payers land in Tokyo Japan. He was being used by the last administration, and now he is back to destroy hearts of Kenya Citizens.
He has been used since Independence!! This is why they are being recycled from office to office looking for the loopholes where money is then they destruct in order to get what they want. What do these kinds of people want? Surely what do these people want? You will hear soon this Administration will advertise the tender for the new JKIA construction and it will not be a surprise – “Kamau” will win the tender even sub-contractor will be from them. And this Attorney General – is he having any family relations to the country’s Chief Executive?
How can fire from a friction do such damage without being contained soonest? That was a small thing – a fraction of a fire that could have been prevented by hand nitrogen fire extinguisher. Was there any hand nitrogen fire extinguishers installed near any of the more than one fire starting points? Was there friction in all the fire starting points at the same time? This must have been a big coincident and a miracle fire.
Was there fire alarm detectors installed? Was there enough water at the airport? Were there horse pipes around the walls? Was there enough water at the valve? Were there nitrogen sprinklers within the facility? Was there fire engine with the highdrolic automatic ladders above the ground? How many fire Engines are there in each airport in Kenya? It is unfortunate and pathetic that the greediness from these few Kenyans is destroying the country.
JKIA is built with firm concrete and blocks of 8by12. One would wonder where the planning and safety of such an important facility is drawn from.
REMEMBER: The 10% Rich Kikuyu’s who took over from the beginning – from the top CEO and the Managing Directors to the tea maker to date are all Kikuyus from an area of Kikuyu land where the Managing Director is coming from. This is true, it remains true and God knows that it is true.
It is either the 10% rich goons are nation accursed. The cardinal rule of Contingency planning within an International Airport is safety, and efficiency. Effective and prompt Rescue and fire Fighting Services must be capable. Equipment’s must be tested and ready for prevention, and quick response. Drills must be conducted periodically,? I’m wandering how the KCAA licensed the KAA without going through all that was non existent – under the table operation by the administration.
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT’S CHARTARED PLANE SAGA:
Democracy is working and these kinds of steeling would not be known if the struggle was not put in place. The late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and Matiba who is ailing and many others did a good job – they are Heroes. But still, some people like former President Daniel Arap Moi and others never liked it till today. Emerging Democracy is working. Kenyans can take rich goons to court and if they kill, we get them and we take them to court.
THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER RAILA ODINGA:
Raila met Uhuru Kenyatta and Museveni in Uganda. Remember the former President Daniel Arap Moi recently met Uhuru Kenyatta? And what do you think they talked about? The strategy is going on as to what can be done to Raila? Meanwhile, they are covering their nakedness from their action of not respecting Raila. Let the administration use their JKIA gates for their benefits. The works of an illegitimate Presidency where former President Daniel Arap Moi is the current shadow President.
KENYANS’ REMEMBER WHO KILLED DR. GARANG – THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF SOUTHERN SUDAN
Should they be imagining that this kind of strategy can be done on Raila then the current administration is day-dreaming. Their whole administration will crumble in a blink of an eye and they will not be able to contain the mess. They are thinking shallowly that this strategy would destruct ICC’s progress. They have no idea. ICC has fundamental and lethal telecommunications Satellite Information and Photos of the GSU who were at the gates.
These are dangerous people who kill and they don’t care. They have tried to use this strategy on Raila Odinga and they have failed so far. They probably think that their Hotel beddings can work – beddings lined with treated chemicals like they did try on Professor Saitoti in Mombasa. They can use the Aero plane seats, the dais chair seats, even the laundry. The dry cleaners that washes Raila’s clothes can be their avenue. Be aware – these are mafia tack tics.
Kenya will never rest as long as the former Presidents are still alive? Uhuru Kenyatta should not be going to The Hague without Mr. Mwai Kibaki and Muthaura, and if the inductees are not found guilty then there will be amass to the street to force the former Presidents to face the realities and face the law of the land this will not be nonsense movement .With out stilling the 2007 Presidential elections Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto and others would not be facing jailing terms in The Netherlands and think what kind of these stupid people are?
KANU-JUBLILEE ADMINISTRATION: They burnt JKIA practically because they need money; the former President Moi’s read briefcases are going dry now because of the rigged presidential elections for Uhuru Kenyatta to carry on with the steps of his father’s and Moi’s foot steps.
KENYAN’S: Be very care full to this goons 10% Kikuyus, see and make note on who from where and who from which county?
The Tokyo land –the 10% rich Kikuyus/the AG Instituted the Tokyo land stilling Methods.
The Deputy President controversial jet-the 10% rich Kikuyus, please read their names written in black and white.
The China malicious school lap tops are not vital at this time just as the former President Moi come up with school milk? Kenyans need food, jobs and school buildings with new block structures, some schools are still built with caw dung some schools are still poor. The laptops are meant for the 10% rich Kikuyu schools but not for Western, Nyanza Northern and coastal counties forget it.
The JKIA saga. The European Investment Bank has offered to help the Kenya government to recover but let as be careful here, if this money be given directly to the government in their hands then the KANU and JUBILEE will be happy that the method used has succeeded by burning the air port. If the help is for free not loaned to the tax payers then forget with your money. If the donation is free then give it to the government.
WHY THE10% RICH KIKUYUS’ HELPS THE FORMER MURANGA’A LEADER CAN: MR. KENNETH MATIBA IS A HERO. And thanks goes to Raila Odinga Tinga Tinga.
IF YOU’R TRYING TO PLAY AROUND WITH RAILA ODINGA THEN ASKS FOR YOUR GRAVE:
Raila Odinga is every were and there is another Raila somewhere a waiting for it. It will not end the way you guys think and what you see could be his shadows but for now eat your JKIA-arrival units.
KENYANS: Make sure Moi and Kibaki goes to ICC soon.
The Little Data Book on Africa 2012/2013 is a pocket edition of Africa Development Indicators 2012/2013. It contains some 115 key indicators on economics, human development, governance, and partnership and is intended as a quick reference for users of the Africa Development Indicators 2010 book and African Development Indicators Online.
The country tables present the latest available data for World Bank member countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, covering about 1,700 indicators from 1961 to 2011. Key themes are : • Basic indicators • Drivers of growth • Participating in growth • Capable states • Partnerships. Designed to provide all those interested in Africa with quick reference and a reliable set of data to monitor development programs and aid flows in the region, this is an invaluable pocket edition reference tool for analysts and policy makers who want a better understanding of the economic and social developments occurring in Africa.
You’re now confusing us. DECOLONIZATION means to REMOVING COLONIZATION.
According to your story, I thing you mean to say RECOLONIZATION i.e. RE-INSTUTING COLONIZATION.
Sivyo?
Courage
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On Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 9:09 AM, Judy Miriga wrote:
Good People,
Foreign Contract to Chinese Government to Stop Poaching is another way to spread Chinese Policing into the village country-side to hijack (take-over) Kenya and deny Kenyan Youths Jobs. It is another way to directly control over Kenya and the Great Lakes of East Africa. It is a system applied for quite transitioning of Uhuru-Ruto Administration handing-over power to Chinese Government to Rule and take Kenya by storm, in the process of DECOLONIZATION; which is going the Mozambique style and it must be stopped instantaneously.
Kenya with the rest of Great Lakes of East Africa are a Democratic Nation and No amount of invasion will be accepted as long as the International and UN Treaty have not been revoked. This calls for an urgent investigation of the World Bank, IMF and United Nations’ Secretary General Ban-Ki-moonby the FBI for fueling Corruption and Impunity through being part of this great conspiracy trigger. It is because, the manner at which they recommended funding for AIDs Funding to remove poverty, provide health-care, provide security, initiate job opportunities and Education in the Great Lakes of East Africa is questionable and suspicious. They instead purposely fueled extreme corruption and impunity in the Greater Region of East Africa.
Funds have been channeled through corrupt means with unclear Agreements in Partnership with the operating International NGOs on the ground who work along the Government side, where they don’t seem to transmit those funding directly to do what they were initiated for. Consequently, there are no follow-ups to determine positive effectiveness where if there is no good results from those funding, what immediate action were taken to avoid its failure???……… It was then found that, drivers of the funding disbursement have instead created and financed take-over of East Africa which is why, Migingo and Goma was taken with annexing of Port of Kismayu. We found that, the insecurity is spreading fast with fueling of thuggery, proliferation of Arms through Kismayu, Migingo and Lake Victoria. This is zeroed-in with active participation and funding of Rebel Groups thus:
Al-Qaeda, Al-shabaab, Mungiki, Pirating, drug peddling with foreign exchange money trafficking, Child Prostitution and trafficking; with more problems to include environmental pollutions, sicknesses, careless killings, forceful Land Grabbing and theft………Therefore, all these numerous accounts of injustices are unacceptable and justice must prevail……..They are all as a result of funds being channeled the wrong way without transparency and accountability, through Foreign NGOs on the Ground supposed to be providing AIDs to the Great Lakes of Africa to remove poverty, sickness and provide security and education.
Having realized that these NGOs are not doing much fast enough to aid quick killings and take-over, the UN Agencies with the Corrupt African Leaders with their network of the International Corporate Special Business Interest resolved to forcefully take-over Great Lakes of East Africa through Chinese Private Army in Kenya that was sensored by Kalonzo Musyoka and supervised by Raila and Kibaki in the Coalition Government.
This is the unfinished business Raila, Kagame with Museveni are fighting for while their paymasters standing akimbo watching them to fulfill their mission urgently……….and which is why, there is this struggle between Raila and Uhuru Government and why Museveni is the Chairman and Kagame the Secretary in this Great Lakes of East Africa who are both entrusted with the mission by heir pay masters who are the International Corporate of Special Business Interest in the Great Region of East Africa.
This is not right, it is not fair and it is not morally justified. It is a serious crime against humanity and it cannot be left to happen that way.
Therefore, Contracting Poaching Unit by Chinese must be stopped, it is not economical viable for Kenya or to any other Sovereign Nationality of Africa. It will be the beginning of World War and, Kenya with the Great Lakes of East Africa will be the battle-ground.
PETITIONING OVER CONCERNS:
These concerns must not be taken lightly by the International Community Leaders; as they provide fodder for the Third World War meant to wipe out Africans from Africa like what happened to Mozambique. It is immorally unjust to kill Africans and replace them with Chinese. It is all along known in world records that Chinese Government is the worst in Human Rights Crime, Violation and Abuse records including environment pollution. They must not be left to destroy Kenya with the rest of East Africa. I therefore petition US President Obama to lead good leaders Allys of USA to save a situation in Kenya with the rest of Great Lakes of East Africa.
Africa needs sustainable functioning development Agenda and not those of wiping out Africans through Chinese Private Army that are posing as policing poacher………..This is not what they are going for………they are going for human beings…….which is why Raila is calling the Youth Lizards (Raila led the onslaught comparing Obura to a lizard. He said according to a Nigerian parable, there was a lizard that craved recognititon. He said the lizard climbed a tree hoping people would see him). That in their cry for justified demands as per public mandate, the Youth have no rights……..They are going to exterminate human beings not Lizards in reality, and more or so, they are more interested in poaching themselves that to protect and save ……. They are interested in the big money not to preserve Africas interest………..
Wake up people, wake up and join forces to reject this mission in totallity………Let the world help to save Africans, let Africans not perish in the hands of these selfish and greedy businessmen !!!
Extremely very sad indeed………but the Truth with Justice ill set us all free……….and Peace and Liberty in pursuit for Hapiness shall prevail…………
May God Protect and Bless Africa with its people !!!
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
China to help fund anti-poaching war
PHOTO | COURTESY Kenya Wildlife Service rangers on patrol. China has pledged to fund Kenya’s efforts to curb wildlife poaching. NATION MEDIA GROUP | KWS
By NATION REPORTER
Posted Friday, August 9 2013 at 23:30
China has pledged to fund Kenya’s efforts to curb wildlife poaching.
Speaking at a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Prof Judi Wakhungu, Chinese ambassador to Kenya Liu Guangyuan said his country would give Kenya a grant, which he did not specify, to protect the elephant, rhino and other endangered species.
The pledge comes in the wake of renewed efforts by the Kenyan authorities to totally eradicate poaching.
The government has already formed a special unit to fight the menace, with China, the United States and UK among the countries funding it.
Last week, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta launched the “Hands off Elephants” campaign to spearhead the protection of elephants.
Speaking during the meeting with Prof Wakhungu, the Chinese envoy urged Kenya to strengthen wildlife conservation measures and severely punish poachers.
China’s anti-poaching laws are some of the most stringent in the world, with offenders often getting life imprisonment.
Expressing Kenya’s wish to join hands with other nations in combating illegal ivory and rhino horn trade, Prof Wakhungu praised China for its consistent measures and actions towards the enforcement of wildlife conservation laws.
The Kenya Wildlife Service says Kenya lost 384 elephants and 29 rhino to poachers last year alone. This year, 190 elephants and 34 rhinos have been killed.
Last month, a huge consignment of ivory was impounded in Mombasa.
The ivory, weighing 3.3 metric tonnes and valued at Sh65 million, was concealed in gunny sacks and declared as groundnuts bound for Malaysia.
The consignment comprised 382 whole pieces and 62 cut pieces of ivory.
The seizure came barely two months after customs officials in the United Arab Emirates seized 259 pieces of ivory shipped from Mombasa.
Ministry urges MPs to prioritise Wildlife Bill
Environment Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe flags off one of the vehicles that will be used by Inter Security Agency Anti-Poaching Unit at KWS headquarters in Nairobi August 8, 2013. The Ministry urged MPs to move with speed and pass the Wildlife Bill that seeks to tighten penalties for poachers. ANTHONY OMUYA
By JEREMIAH KIPLANG’AT jkiplangat@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Saturday, August 10 2013 at 09:57
Related Stories
Prioritise anti poaching Bill, MPs urged
Environment Cabinet Secretary Judy Wakhungu has urged MPs to move with speed and pass the Wildlife Bill that seeks to tighten penalties for poachers.
Prof Wakhungu said poaching had shot up since the beginning of the year hence the need for the fast enactment of the proposed law, which she said is expected to play a bigger role in preventing the vice.
“We are keen on the speedy enactment of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill, 2013 that proposes stiffer and deterrent penalties. It has been published and tabled in Parliament but expect faster enactment,” she said Thursday in a speech read on her behalf by the ministry’s Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe during the launch of a special unit of security officers to tackle poachers.
The Bill will be read for the first time when the lawmakers return from their recess on September 17. It is expected that the proposed law will impose heftier penalties when it is enacted.
Last June, the Cabinet approved the Bill that is set to, among others, increase the fine to up to one million shillings for those found engaging in poaching.
Enhanced sentences
Mr Lesiyampe said the Ministry was lobbying for enhanced sentences for those found guilty of poaching.
“These are not ordinary criminals. They are economic saboteurs who should not be treated softly anymore. We are thinking of 15 years imprisonment or even life sentences,” he said.
The special unit comprises 121 officers drawn from Kenya Wildlife Service, Administration Police and General Service Unit. They will undergo training at the KWS centre in Manyani before being deployed to the three poaching hotspots in the country.
The hotspots are Narok, Tsavo and Isiolo.
KWS director William Kiprono said the unit will boost the fight against poaching, a menace he said, could not be addressed alone by the wildlife department.
“It is now a serious issue that KWS cannot address it alone. It is a national problem. We need everybody on board to tackle it,” Mr Kiprono said.
The formation of the unit comes a week following the launch of another campaign, Hands Off Elephants, by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
The campaign aims at pushing for tighter measures to guard against elephant poaching.
COMMENTS:
theafricanthinker
•a day ago •2 upvotes
Rot in government ministries. I’m just sick of news I’m hearing from
home these days.
There is nothing good. JKIA burnt, no one knows why.
Balala is demanding corruption from investors, no one is gonna stop him.
If police and other first responders loot victims properties, who shall we trust? If the ministry entrusted with wildlife is smuggling out wild animal parts, who should protect Kenya’s natural beauties?
Poor Kenyans have always been on the losing end!
see more
jackmuraguri@hotmail.com
•a day ago •0 upvotes
Life sentence to poachers and the confiscation of all their wealth is the only solution.
see more
Hoorayhenry
•a day ago•3 upvotes
It’s not new laws that we need, we need to let people who love & value
this great heritage look after it. We, indigenous Africans have no time for wildlife. Traditionally, we’ve always seen animals as a source of our basic needs (food clothing, shelter) period. This is my argument…. KWS under the Leakeys, was so efficient that poaching had almost completely been eradicated, & in fact the population of the ‘big five’ had increased to an extent of them starting to be a menace, & there was talk of culling elephants in Kenya. KWS is still here, now managed by us indigenous Africans, why has it become a joke? SA still have their wildlife protection intact!!!! Same reason perhaps???
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Published on Aug 9, 2013
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CORD leader Raila Odinga tells off
Kisumu Central MP Ken Obura over
leadership
Updated Friday, August 9th 2013 at 23:19 GMT +3
By RUSHDIE OUDIA
KENYA: CORD leader Raila Odinga has told off the young Turks over their plans to take over leadership in ODM.
The former PM alongside other CORD leaders, who spoke during the homecoming for Kisumu County Assembly majority leader, Samuel Ong’ou, aimed their blows at Kisumu Central MP Ken Obura who had showed his interest in the ODM Secretary General’s post.
Obura’s onslaught was brought forth using parables and straight attacks.
Raila led the onslaught comparing Obura to a lizard. He said according to a Nigerian parable, there was a lizard that craved recognititon. He said the lizard climbed a tree hoping people would see him.
“You can be old in body but young in mind and similarly you can be old in mind and young in body,” said Raila, advising the young leaders.
Funyula MP Paul Otuoma said Obura was like a young bull trying to overthrow the oldest bull in the house.
Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama also dismissed the young leaders.
“Obura does not know what he is saying and he should stop all these theatrics,” said Muthama, adding that Raila wants unity yet some people are set to destabilise ODM.
National Assembly Deputy Chief Whip, Jakoyo Midiwo told Obura to respect the older leaders.
Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang’ said ODMis like a church and there is no way a small priest could sit on the bishop’s seat simply because he is old.
Fears over new split as ODM bigwigs
cling on ‘one-man’
Updated Friday, August 9th 2013 at 23:50 GMT +3
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Dogeretti North MP Simba Arati (LEFT) are welcomed by ODM supporters in Dagoretti for presentation of bursaries in the constituency. [PHOTO: FILE]
By JUMA KWAYERA
KENYA: A fresh storm is simmering in the Orange Democratic Movement after the party’s top hierarchy failed to provide a definite roadmap to the eagerly anticipated National Delegates Convention.
The meeting is expected to result in radical decisions about the future of the party following a push from the rank and file for change at the top. ODM MPs demanded party leader Raila Odinga to cut lose certain officials at a meeting in Nairobi on Wednesday.
So sensitive is the issue that some of the party officials contacted either flatly declined to comment or referred all questions to newly appointed executive director Joseph Magerer Lang’at, himself facing a revolt as some members question his appointment.
At least 10 MPs are contemplating ‘technically’ defecting from ODM to underline their unhappiness. Former Roads Minister Franklin Bett says the party faces serious integrity questions in the manner it handles its affairs. In a tell-all interview with The Standard on Saturday, Bett took a swipe at the opacity in party operations that excludes majority of its members.
“I am aware they have tried to set meetings after the last Parliamentary Group meeting in June,” says Bett, who was in charge of the party’s presidential election team. “However, meeting and sharing with members is critical to the survival of this party. A clique around the party leader makes decisions. If a party avoids its members, it is doomed to fail. If they cannot find a way of accommodating all members, then the party risks being a one-man show.”
The brickbat that was clearly aimed at the party’s top brass left no doubt he shares the sentiments and frustrations younger MPs and senators have been expressing.
Jubilee is reportedly preparing a war chest to pounce on the dissenters. There have been reports of an effort to woo Western Kenya among other areas.
The latest developments represent the many twists and turns ODM has had to navigate to remain vibrant in the bicameral Parliament, despite its relatively weaker numerical strength. Some of the MPs met Raila on Wednesday evening during which they were categorical the bad eggs have to be dispensed with soon or the party risks another mass exodus as witnessed in the countdown to the March elections.
Kakamega meeting
The meeting was an attempt by Raila to calm the storm that has been building up involving mainly first-time MPs who have been calling for radical surgery to rid the party of senior officials they accuse of being responsible for the debacle suffered in the elections. The former PM’s responses to specific questions allegedly left some “frustrated”.
Raila, party secretary-general, treasurer and minority leader come from the same community, a reality those calling for disaggregation of seats to reflect the face of Kenya want changed.
The frustration of MPs from ODM political base in Nyanza coincides with a planned meeting in Kakamega this weekend to be addressed by, among others, former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende. Marende is positioning himself for chairmanship.
The realignment takes place against a backdrop of reports that pressure is piling on Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chair Ababu Namwamba and Funyula MP Paul Otuoma “to work with” the Jubilee government. Namwamba would not respond to our phone calls or text messages.
Hot topic
One of the MPs who attended the 5-9pm “dinner” meeting told The Standard on Saturday that the former PM remained vague on when the party would hold elections to rejuvenate it. The MP says it is unlikely the much-talked about polls will take place this year, as it had become hot topic that would split the party further.
The Serena Hotel dinner talks were attended by Millie Odhiambo (Mbita), Opondo Kaluma (Homa Bay), David Ochieng’ (Ugenya), Ken Obura (Kisumu Central), Jared Opiyo (Awendo), Ken Okoth (Kibra), Sylvance Osele (Kabondo Kasipul) and George Oner Ogalo (Rangwe).
We have also learned that some MPs at the meeting said a senior official in Deputy President William Ruto’s office has been tasked with recruitment of disgruntled MPs from Nyanza and Western.
Kisumu Central MP Ken Obura referred to the meeting as routine “coffee meeting” with the party leader. “There is nothing extra-ordinary. We always meet with party leader for tea,” Mr Obura explained. The first-time MP, however, acknowledged the need to rebuild and re-brand the party.
“The National Governing Council will meet soon to set a date for elections. Once the NGC sets a date for a National Delegates Convention, we shall have enough reasons to speak on the direction we want the party to take,” he says.
Another first time MP from South Nyanza, who requested anonymity, says the session at Serena was stormy, with the MPs insisting demagogues responsible for the chaotic primaries be kicked out.
In a text message after the meeting, the MP described as “hot” the debate on the role played by chairman Henry Kosgey, Secretary-General Anyang Nyong’o, Eliud Owalo and Deputy National Assembly Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo in the March 4 elections.
The MPs questioned the recruitment of Magerer. The latter could not be reached by phone. Leaders from the former Western Province are pushing for either chairmanship or secretary-general’s post. Coast too is eying one of the positions, which are currently held by Kosgey and Nyong’o.
Other than Marende, Otuoma is said to be interested in Kosgey’s post while Namwamba and party assistant executive director Nabii Namwera are lining up to replace Nyong’o. Some MPs from Western are accused of either not propagating their party’s agenda or are quietly “working” with Jubilee.
10/03/08
03:32:29 pm, by nazret.com, 220 words
Categories: Ethiopia, Somalia
Should Ethiopia annex Somalia?
File Photo: Ethiopian Troops in Somalia
Should Ethiopia annex Somalia?
Writer Donald Kipkorir argues it is time for Ethiopia and Kenya to annex Somalia, in an opinion piece published in Kenya’s, The Daily Nation, titled, “Why Kenya and Ethiopia ought to annex and divide Somalia”.
Described by the Economist magazine as ‘The world’s most utterly failed state’, Somalia is a lawless state with no functioning central government since 1991. The writer argues the country is a ‘haven for terrorists and pirates’. He goes on to say,
“Annexing Somalia is thus in our strategic interest and we must do it now as the financial meltdown continues to take away the attention of the world.
Somalia as a state exists only in world maps. It is a classic case of a failed state. It is a state dismembered into as many independent units as there are sub-clans. Its 90-strong cabinet is emblematic of the actual number of units. Somalia neighbours Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Of these, it is only Ethiopia and Kenya that have strategic interest in Somalia. Kenya and Ethiopia must and ought to dismember Somalia and divide it between themselves along the 4 degrees latitude, each taking all the land below and above the line.”
You can read the full article from Kenya’s Daily Nation.
Should Ethiopia annex Somalia? Have Your Say
168 comments
Comment from: tola [Visitor]
I think that was the plan all along i say Hell yea we should take over Somaliland and Puntland and give the rest of Somalia to Kenya and also take Eritrea back and have Djibouti join us
10/03/08 @ 15:49
Comment from: KOKEB [Visitor]
ETHIOPIA never annex somalia. It is a dirty trick of MELATAW ZOMBIE and the TPLF TEGRE morans for all this un-wanted war.
Long live the people of ETHIOPIA & SOMALIA!
DEATH to MELESE and HIS bloodY family SHABIA!
10/03/08 @ 15:49
Comment from: dereje [Visitor]
it is sad the Somalis can’t put their house in order, relatively speaking. but Ethiopia never took other people’s land in its history and should keep it that way.
10/03/08 @ 15:53
Comment from: Emperor Menelik II [Visitor]
Perfect discussion We have to do this! Somaliland and Puntland join Ethiopia. The southern Somalians (Mogadishu)are the Shertam’ Somali dirt bag illiterate donkeys, they must join Kenya.
10/03/08 @ 15:53
Comment from: Ogadenian [Visitor]
Ethiopia is not even capable of feeding itself let alone annex Somalia. Ethiopia is in Somalia with the help of Christian Nations who have a deep hatred for all Somali Muslims,beside with all the finance,weapon,air and sea support for those Christians nations still it can not control one single city.
For goodness sake lets fight each other one to one,i meant Ethiopia against Somalia only no outside help and i swear to you Ethiopia will not last a week with us Somalis.
Its always Russian,Cuban,British, etc
Who are fighting against Somalian in the name of Ethiopians,that is why we are saying this is not fair.
10/03/08 @ 15:57
Comment from: berta [Visitor]
Not annex but it is a good strategy to temporarily split Somalia in to at least pieces. one ruled by Kenya plus AU and UN, the next piece ruled by Ethiopia plus AU and UN the other piece Puntland/Djibuti plus AU and UN.
10/03/08 @ 16:11
Comment from: Tesfaye [Visitor]
We have to be realistic. Somaliland & Puntland can join Ethiopia. Djoubiti & Eritrea should be given back to Ethiopia. Then we can build our country. We can mobilise our human and material resources to the maximum. This time we have to be serious about our internal enemies. They should be hunted and eliminated. Ethiopia needs a true national leader. Those leaders who have no respect for history are either insane or agents of foreign powers. ThEY HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH.
The case of Eritrea should be also resolved. Muslim Eritrea can be given to Sudan and the christian areas including Massawa should be given to Ethiopia. This is the way to deal with people who are bandas and messeners of destruction. The eritreans are mercenaries, slaves who been waging a war of detruction by proxy.
10/03/08 @ 16:26
Comment from: kirkiri [Visitor]
Kenya and Ethiopia don’t have the capacity to annex Somalia.
Somalia is closer to annexing both countries.
The Islamic courts union/al shabab hold more territory today than when Ethiopia cowardly thought it could do something about Somalia.
20,000 Ethiopian soldiers are dead and the Somali fighters not reached their full potential. Kenya is far weaker than Ethiopia.
Dreams are so cheap. Every fool can dream.
10/03/08 @ 16:27
Comment from: Tenkir [Visitor]
This is such a stupid question for those of us Ethiopians who know Ethiopia is run by a sophisticated gov that gives away land and territory (viz Eritrea) to manage a small country effectively In fact in a series of interviews I heard woyane officials complaining Ethiopia being too big to govern. So, please tell me how on earth will Ethiopia under the leadership of woyane would annex a land? Or are you asking a philosophical question suggesting since Somalia could be equated as a problem that the gov will not hesitate to bring anything negative to our side?
10/03/08 @ 16:28
Comment from: common sense [Visitor]
Sure it sounds an outlandish idea, but it’s really not that crazy an idea.It’s actually a win win situation for both Ethiopia and Somalia.If we look past European colonists era African tribes were just living side by side with out per say having a country of their own. It was mostly the English’s policy of divide and concur that brought about all these African nations. In light of that,if we are to entertain the idea of joining part of Somalia with Ethiopia should be given serious consideration.However it has to be in a democratic fashion with something like a referendum.I’m sure a lot of Somalis would support living side by side with their Ethiopian brothers.
10/03/08 @ 16:29
Comment from: Death to Weyanes [Visitor]
This is just stupid question? First let’s give Oromia and Ogaden their independence, they don’t want be a part of Ethiopia, then we can talk the other dream you have.
10/03/08 @ 16:42
Comment from: Emperor Menelik II [Visitor]
Tesfaye =You say Muslim Eritrea (30%) should be given to Sudan and Christian Eritrea(70%) should be given to Ethiopia? Did you know Ethiopia has more Muslim population then Sudan does? Ethiopia is 55% Muslim… at the same time you want Massawa in Eritrea to be given to Ethiopia? Massawa is Muslim Afars who live there. You want Djibouti and Somaliand to join Ethiopia and they are 100% Muslim If this is going to work we can not let religion play in this at all. The only Christians in the region are the Amhara and Tigray. The rest are Muslims.
10/03/08 @ 16:44
Comment from: raee [Visitor]
Should Ethiopia annex Somalia? what a moron question? Ethiopia should start feeding, educating, providing health care etc… for its nation. Stop talking about Ethiopia as if it’s some kind of a super power country. We have been begging for food every year God knows since when.
10/03/08 @ 16:54
Comment from: danieltekle [Visitor]
You guys are crazy.
If Haile Selasie’s annexation of Eritrea in 1951 ended with a devastation in 1991, as Eritrea gained its independence, why in the world would some of you suggest it is a good idea to annex Somalia. It is not controversial to say Eritreans and Ethiopians (at least those who live on the highlands) have a great deal in common with one another. Yet 30 years of war ensued in spite of the commonality. You want to repeat history?
Moreover, Ethiopia was also listed as a part of the failed states of the world, does that mean Kenya should annex Ethiopia, NOT!!!
Let’s clean our house before we judge other failed states.
10/03/08 @ 16:57
Comment from: Monkey [Visitor]
If Ethiopia commits to annexing Somalia and by doing so gives us an outlet to the ocean, I’ll volunteer to fight anyone who tries to stop this great plan.
The guy who thought of this is a genius.
10/03/08 @ 17:02
Comment from: gimatam shabiya [Visitor]
Really excellent article i ever read in this web site.This the only way to remove terrorist from horn Africa and to help Somalian brothers. Some Shabiyas in this web site start to urinate in there trousers.
10/03/08 @ 17:03
Comment from: uwnet lemenager [Visitor]
that’s dream which will not happen for ever because the Somalians are very energetic and a hero people. if their country were peace, they would have been control the horn of Africa by their military power,but their only enemy is a drug called “chat” or “mirah” if they avoid taking the above drug, they will be one of the strongest country in the region believe it or not.
10/03/08 @ 17:13
Comment from: Dr. Ashebir [Visitor]
Anyone who knows that even our brothers the Eritreans left us in a bloody war, would not be gullible enough to accept such seductive message. Let the Somalis keep their misfortune at a distance. Let’s not inherit their misfortune, instead fight it from overflowing.
10/03/08 @ 17:14
Comment from: Thomas [Visitor]
KOKEB
Kokeb; your comments are always full of hate, but nothing else. Why? I don’t know. Here is my assumptions; I think You are one of the losers from this government. Or, you are one of Iss-Ass Dikala who wants the destruction of Ethiopia.
Just get a life and stay in your Artera’s (Asmera) affaire. Leave us Alone please. You are Full of hate. use your hate to build your useless Aretera with your father Iss-ass.
10/03/08 @ 17:22
Comment from: soma [Visitor]
SOMALIA IS AN INDEPENDENT NATION WHO ARE SHOWING THEIR STRENGTH BY DEFEATING US AND MELESE
We all should understand Somalia is an independent nation no body will annex them.
The people of Somalia are different they are different when it come to US and Ethiopia.
Even though they have big difference among themselves when it comes to enemy like Ethiopia and US they have shown their strength.
10/03/08 @ 17:23
Comment from: Ali roble [Visitor]
In this day and age,even a drunkard Negro like this scumbag has some crazy idea, of course it unlikely his pure imagination but just some copy-cuts of colonialists and his former white master, what do with Somalia.Is he got enough share from the spoils left British by annexing Somaliland area to Kenya? What about if Luo tribes and others that live in Uganda and Tanzania when hostility against Kukuyo erupts next time around? Does Tanzania and Uganda also have right to annex them. Where we gonna draw the line? Are we redraw all African borders again thereby opening Pandora’s box?I think Ethiopia has enough problems of its own. Besides, its experience over Eritrea’s Annexation in the past taught unforgettable lesson. In the meantime I think Somalis will sort out their differences if left alone to deal with it.
10/03/08 @ 17:30
Comment from: Yonas Bekele [Visitor]
Another dumb and unsustainable idea. Somalia is not just a vast land mass, it has actually people living there and they do not want to be part of Ethiopia or Kenya. And what does Ethiopia have to gain by annexing its neighbor, if not more violence and other problems? I think we should withdraw our guys and let Somalis resolve their own problems, even if that means an Islamist state taking root there. No one like that scenario but Ethiopia is paying dearly in term of lives and treasure to help a country that may be a failed state forever.
10/03/08 @ 17:37
Comment from: habeshawu [Visitor]
the best way to secure peace in east Africa is to secure our borders and leave the Somalians to solve their problems by themselves, and most importantly give the eritrean law land to Sudan and throw the hamaseins in the salty red sea and give the high land to Ethiopia.
10/03/08 @ 17:59
Comment from: M.T. [Visitor]
no
10/03/08 @ 18:05
Comment from: sintayehu [Visitor]
please so not run so fast to say something without thinking about them. Even though Ethiopia has strong army in Horn now we can not invade Somalia because that would be a shame for us.What are we trying to show let invade Somalia like the Europeans did in their time. Somalia people are love people and we have to respect that O WE ETHIOPIANS LIKE IF ANY COUNTRY INVADE ETHIOPIA? ANSWER THAT AS THE FOR SOMALIA. But we are strong and we will be strong always.That is Ethiopia
10/03/08 @ 18:36
Comment from: Passerby [Visitor]
Honestly people! And nazret!!!!
This is the most stupidest idea let alone an idea for discussion…it suggests nazret thinks Ethiopians are that stupid? Now i wonder who owns this websites and on who side the owner is on politically.
1) Ethiopia during the 77 war won and could have annexed Somaliland but chose not to.
2) Ethiopia has under her rightful and patriotic rulers a history of hands-off lands that don’t belong to us, we went after eritrea thinking we were brothers and that didn’t workout as meles ceded all to his mothers side of the family.
3) every Ethiopian should be insulted by such questions cause Ethiopians don’t have a real representative gov’t that gives a darn about the people. When a rightful gov’t that is representative of the people comes to power, the real land of Ethiopia should be up for discussion…asseb!
10/03/08 @ 18:43
Comment from: SPINX [Visitor]
Hello my Horn Africa people
Let me take you back to 1960-70,war between Somalia and Ethiopia,or allow me to say Between Somalia and Russia and Cuba,with out the direct help of the then Soviet-Union,back then,Ogaden-land which is legally Somalian land,would still be Somalian,History repeats it’s self,Ethiopia never fought any war or battle alone by it’s own,it’s always been supported by the West,starting from Haile-Selassie and the British,then Megustu and Russia,Now Meles-USA,Dear Ethiopians,don’t believe the hype Somalians never forgot their stolen land,OGADEN,and now you acually think to take over the whole Somalia,are you out of touch,or reality,or common sense,The USA,Ethiopia’s #1,ally is no more a Super Power,it is collapsing,so Meles,please don’t think over your head,first think about how if you can beat the AL-Shabad,warriors,that are really getting stronger as we speak.Meles please think positive,and get our of Somalian-KusH-Land.HAPPY-EID,Brothers/Sisters
10/03/08 @ 19:01
Comment from: mercato [Visitor]
The nonsense idea of the century I have no word to express we have lost Djibouti ,Eritrea and part of Gondar I believe this is not our government plan!
To an wise commentator
Religions issue is like playing with fire it is not good for Christians based on east Africa reality also do not forget we have enough pagan in east Africa. Can’t you see we have enough problem? With 81 tribe and many religions. Way we do not try to negotiate with Eritrea at last we have the same culture in most area also we speak the same kind of language even our prime minister is from Eritrea.
10/03/08 @ 19:17
Comment from: aste menelik II (the best of all kings and dictators) [Visitor]
I say Somalia, Djouti, and Eritrea must all be comletely and totally be in the hand of Ethiopia. No Kenya should ever take a piece of land regardless. So that it will benefit the four countries. We will be as strong as Rassia, China, India and U.S.A. Do it right away without wasting any time. It is a very good idea but who has the stomach to do what is best for Ethiopia? If Meles can do such a thing for our country, we will praise him and keep him as an emperior that he holds currently until the time of his death. But the emperior is a spoild one, he never does what is best for our coutry but the opposite. ONE ETHIOPIA, GREEN, YELLOW AND RED. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MY HOME.
10/03/08 @ 19:28
Comment from: ????? Free [Member]
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Stupid nechachiba
10/03/08 @ 19:51
Comment from: EthioMan [Visitor]
Some with spinning heads spinx out of control. Ethiopia does not need to prove any battels fought and won. History will do that. Africans do not need to kill eachother over anything, not relegion not ideology, both not ours to begin with. For those who shout with the crazy annex theory… well, they are just venting. Those who claim territories of sovereign nations are as crazy as the annexers.
Somalia is an independant nation, has been for many decades. The fact there is no working govt does not lead anyone to suggets such dilusional and thoughtless means. It is poisoning otherwise lawful people and nations near by. It must be condemed for what it is. Spreading poison.
My take on this issue is, Ethiopia MUST withdraw and allow the Somali people to do what they may to themselves. If and when they cross our borders, then we will let those who claim we never beat any shiritam or shabian punk back to oblivion, come and watch. Till then, I say somalia to Somalis.
10/03/08 @ 20:02
Comment from: yahye [Visitor]
:Once Kenya and Ethiopia have sent their combined army to Somalia and declared the annexation, we will present to the world a fait accompli. ”
A mentally handicapped Negro Rambo.
10/03/08 @ 20:17
Comment from: Tegerami [Visitor]
Those of you support this idea must be out of your mind. In return, rather, ethiopia shoul leave and depart from the somali region of Ogaden, which was annexed by menilki the II a century ago. Because that is the root problem for all animosity and mistrust between these two brotherly horn of afrikaners.
If once ethiopia leaves the region, no doubt that peace will be prevailed between somalis and ethios for eternity. Anyways,we had the gut to give eritrea, the real habesha land, away by the bless of our government in our modern day history. So why we lose a courage to do so in Ogaden, non-habesha land, but somali land.
10/03/08 @ 20:23
Comment from: Sprinter [Visitor]
Ethiopia is cutting and running, what can it annex? As for the Kenya Kelinjin reporter, his suggestion of passing the buck to Ethiopia is interesting. Why did he not suggest Kenya to annex instead. Because he knows Kenyans cannot face Somalis. Kenyan soldiers are heavily equipped but in battles they defate on themselves. Anyone who lived in Northern Kenya knows that.
As for Ethiopia, its hallucination is over. It is reality checks. Its opportunistic moves are bust. What a field day we Somalis have. Its time you taste defeat. Your boys are hold up in few buildings in Mogadishu. As I write they want to desperately run away. They are afraid and terribly lonely. The bullet is their fate, either way if they say or not. They have exit strategy.
It must be horrible to be defeated by a country without a regular army. Yes, yes, your adventurism has eventually cought up with you. Allua Continua!!!
10/03/08 @ 21:07
Comment from: Gemechu [Visitor]
SPINX:
Your information on regards the war between Ethiopia and Somalia is right, but I have something to tell u.
Somalia was getting full support from Russian on the begging of the war when they invade Ethiopia. They have more than 200 tanks, MG fighter’s jet and other military hardwires. Then after Russia shifted their support to Ethiopia Somalia was supported by Egypt, USA (because of Russia Support to Ethiopia) and other Middle east countries……
The real question is, there were/are no countries in Africa who won any battle without other foreign/west countries support. We or Somalia don’t produce any weapon at the moment and because of that we always seek help from those who produce it.
When your country (Eriteria) fought for their independence they were getting supports from Egypt and other Middle East countries. So please don’t make it a big deal just because we get lots of supports from other country such as USA. No matter how much the support is you don’t wean without good fighters. Somalia invaded Ethiopia with more than 200 tanks and don’t know how to use it. Finally, they have to abandon all of their tanks for Ethiopian solders.
On recent battle with your Country Eri and Ethiopia your country did get lots of support from Egypt but they were not successful. The reason why they were not successful was luck of man power. U are 4 milon and we are 80 million. Somalia is 7-10 million and we are 80 million. You need to understand the facts. Don’t be moron! Population matters when it comes to battle and economy.
10/03/08 @ 21:56
Comment from: Training1 [Visitor]
Are these people on drugs?
They can’t control Somalia and they are thinking of annexing it?
30,000 Tigryabs,2,200 Ugandans and Burundis and thousands of Americans spying on Somalia can’t control the SOUTH. Tigryans are being dragged on the streets.
Now this guys is suggesting that we annex the whole country? Please brother. Stop taking drugs before you write.
10/03/08 @ 21:59
Comment from: ZXAmiche [Visitor]
In your dreams!
Be afraid and pray Somalinization not to haunt Ethiopia and Kenya!
10/03/08 @ 22:09
Comment from: Land of the day dreamers [Visitor]
Funny these are the same retards who comment about the unity of Ethiopia day and night
But turn around and dream of the dividing a neighboring country Somalia!!!!
I am appalled even for Nazeret to publish this kind of non sense article in the first place! But again seeing most of the contents published here day in day out and the majority of their clientele here it should not be surprising!!
Fools get down of your donkeys and think again! You could not even convince your cousins, the Orthodox Christian Eritreans to stay with you, what makes you think the Somalians can go along?
Get your house in order before your dreams of others!!!!!
What you are gonna do with an empty empty empty land with the most getto people on earth?
Westerners should use it as hunting ground for wild animals?
10/03/08 @ 22:40
Comment from: Ababu [Visitor]
What a ludicrous idea!!! is there any legality of annexing a sovereign country? If so, yes. but i don’t think a failed state like Ethiopia would be able to annex a neighboring country and administer it. The only African country that played such a role was South Africa which had been mandated to admiister Namibia after the defeat of Germany in WWI. This whole idea is a wishful thinking that would mar our country to another round of instability and political complexity.
10/03/08 @ 22:51
Comment from: Wenebz [Visitor]
Ethiopia annexing who and what!? The love for aggrandizing thoughts – that is the real joke!
10/03/08 @ 23:11
Comment from: Time [Visitor]
What is his name? Kipkorir? Wow, I did not know a Kalenjin guy had the audacity to think beyond his nose!!. Does he know his uncle MOI when he was overthrown the man who saved his ass was a Somali (General Mohamoud)? All the Kalenjins went and hid themselves in their Shambas (farms) including Moi. It was Mohamoud who with few Somalis under his command took back the Statehouse and the Radio station and announced Moi is still the President.
Mohamoud took a helicopter and went to Moi’s Shamba (farm) to bring him back. The Kalenjin man (Moi) told Mohamoud ‘Please kill me in my farm. Don’t take me away’. Wow! and Wow again. A kalenjin can dare think of annexing Somalia? It is us somalis who allowed these low life neighbours who never dare look at our side the chance to even think of it. Alas, we somalis might be brave but we are stupid. This generations is definately not like our grand fathers. The year 2020 will be somalia’s year and down hill Issack Newton’s theory for Ethiopia. I guess Kenya has already started the rift more than eethiopia but what can a Kalenjin’s brain comprehend. Haven’t you seen the flying machetes? Each one of them has it in his garage and are ready to cut each other into pieces.
Having said all that, I would prefer seeing the people of Africa living in peace and prosperity rather than talking of annexing a sisterly nation. The Kalenjin boy forgot his country is at the brink of extinction.
Let me say all Afrcan countries need to re-evaluate their way forward. otherwise they will be written into the history books. Aids, Maleria, Poverty, droughts, Wars will only increase bearing in mind the scars reaources the world will be facing. I fear for Africa and he is talking of Annexing another country.
Wait until 2020 and tell me about it. Strategy and maticulous planning that covers many dimension will be the way out for Somalia. By 2020 the Alshabaab and warlords will be history and there will be enough educated somalis in western countries who will take the lead. Investing in Infrastructure, Education, Agriculture and strong social engineering will put Somalia on Track. If you remember what I said, Ethiopia will be going down hills since by then they are recovering from Meles and Tigrey Legacy if they are not mired in civil war. I just pray to God the Somalis don’t take revenge in playig a role in distabilizing Ethiopia more. That is what Meles did. If this happens I wonder who will hold together Ethiopian tribes and religions.
Somalis, we have a saying that says ” Don’t dig your brother’s grave as you might be the one that will fall into it”. Ethiopia has dug the Grave but will it be the one to fall into it? Twelve years will tell.
If you read my post please try to remember what I have posted.
Proud Somali.
NAZRET PLEASE POST IT.
10/04/08 @ 00:42
Comment from: araadom [Visitor]
Annexing Somalia-b/n Ethiopia and Kenya.
You people-why ,why you always bark when your masters in the west tell you.You daydream when your country is always called the land of famine and hunger.Do your homework clean your dirty backyard before you look into Eritrea and Somalia. For Eritrea Adois it is the land of its owners.
10/04/08 @ 01:10
Comment from: Master Mind [Visitor]
raee
Thank you.
You bunch of morons knowing your limitations and capablites should be priority, but which part of your air head have a brain to think?
Let alone annexing somalia you couldn’t take control of feeding your family, it’s too easy to open your mouth hiding your dusty head behind your $20.00 flea market PC but that is not the point…the point is know who you are, some of you idiots can not tell your own names in proper Amharic and most of you have no value of Africanism, simply a borndogs brainless idiots do you think Somalis will stand in a corner and watch you while your kimal is takin over their land?
What a stupid question???????
Nazret thank you for this rubish topic which was able to pull out these morons out of their rat hole.
10/04/08 @ 01:39
Comment from: Z-Mike [Visitor]
Although the suggestion is not a bad idea, Ethiopia should only offer Kenya 10% of Somalia’s land. Kenya did does not have the military need to stand for a fight if and when a fight (war that is0 breaks out. Kenya’s total military is estimate at about 45,000 including the police force, the navy army etc. So to suggest Kenya taking over half of Somalia is not realistic and a very dangerous suggestion by the media.
The next steps of Ethiopia should be:
1} train and build strong navy.
2) Stay in Somalia and if need get rid of the clan leaders and tell Somalis if they don’t get there act together, there wont be another nation call Somalia.
3} get rid of Sheabians along with its terrors.
4} hold a referendum in Ethiopia whether or not Eritrea becomes independent.
****Keep on building even stronger military in Ethiopia and work on stronger democratic systems. Once we do that, Ethiopia will become stronger then ever before and the world will see the strength of Ethiopia/ns.
Z-Mike
10/04/08 @ 01:51
Comment from: kitkat [Visitor]
Annex Somalia !
Yes, Please Please Annex it.
Specially for the sake of unarmed clans who are beings massacred by so called noble clans.
Please Ethiopia Annex Somalia !
10/04/08 @ 03:01
Comment from: habeshawu [Visitor]
Time,
you are full of sh*t, you keep saying 2020, did Somalia win the chance to host Olympic or what seriously be specific about your 2020 plan. you are a typical angry man with a hot balloon head just like our northern neighbors.
10/04/08 @ 03:50
Comment from: Tamrat Tamrat [Visitor]
Lets levae somalians affair to somalians. And if they tried to mess with uss like 2006, 1977, etc then will show them who we are and they strat singing cuba and russia help ethiopia. The worrest thing about the somalians is the story they creat and believ. Is it not a disgrace to discuss anexation of a nation by itself.
10/04/08 @ 04:04
Comment from: Interesting Topic [Visitor]
The writer is a good thinker of the time. But lacks the knowledge of History.
Once Hirsi Ali (a Somalian activist) said about herself that she is the 7th generation of an Immigrant came to todays Somalia. Meaning the not Habesha look like Somalians are not the original residents in todays Somalia.
Somalia never ever has been a country before the British, Italian colonization on her dividing in three. They were primitive nomadic acting and living the way their animals demanding them to do. As the Abyssinian history says, the Entire Somalia territory was under the axumite kingdom including Yemen, southern Saudi Arabia and Gulf states that many of them still looks like the Habesha people. Mogadishu means moqat and shum= the Abyssinians word. The shum/Astedader of the moqat area.
Because of spreading Islam in Africa through war and invasion, the Arabs and Iranians fought against the Abyssinians the same way the Arabs did at the time in todays Sudan against them, too. But never ever been Somalia as a state with her todays territory boundary.
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was the oldest statehood in AFRICA/one of the world. Modern Ethiopia (small Ethiopia) is the oldest modern statehood in Africa since 1850/60+ under the leadership of the modern Ethiopian father Atse Teodros.
After the death of Zere Jacob, the powerful Queen Ellni took the Abyssinian responsibility including todays Somalia Territory. But the time was very bad to Ethiopia as the Turks and Arabs were taking vast territory in todays Sudan including the territory called Sabians (all of them were at the time Christians including eastern, northern and central Sudan). The conflict was going on actively for 400 years but started since 8/9 century. And the worst was between 11-15 in the north and eastern part of the country. In the 16 century after the queen Eleni death (1522), the Arabs saw the weakness of the kingdom and they came through the south (todays Somalia by hiring a primitive nomad converted to become Muslim and as then brainwashed blood sucker against all Christians.
The gruesome Muslim invasion against the Christian Abyssinians took 14 years (1529-1543). During this time they even reached to the centre of the Christian kingdom in Axum and burned down the Axum Tsion mariam. This shows how much human and material damaged all over the country they had caused and the country situation changed for good.
With the European help, the Arabs invasion to spread Islam through war and killing is defeated. But the Abyssinians were badly destroyed. Many have died. Others immigrated to the north to the highlands to escape. The rest became Muslims and the same times they started acting as the todays Somalian do. This is the way the Abyssinian look like Somalians became as Somalians. That is why we said Ethiopian Muslims didn’t become Muslims by choice but by force through invasion and war.
The weakness of the Abyssinians became an opportunity to the massive migration/invasion like ants for the gala migration to the southern, central and western Ethiopia. The Somalians also did the same by defeating the Adals.This way the Zemene Mesafent created and took about 300 years.
Yet, when Ethiopia regrouped and became as a nation in 1860+, there was no a single nation in Africa at the time. That is why I said, “Ethiopia is not only the oldest ancient country but also the oldest modern country, too.”
Egypt became as it is since 1922. The rest of Africa became as it is today since 1953 started from Ghana. Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and the rest of Africa is just 50+ years old. Even in the middle east countries Like Saudi Arabia became as it is today in 1906. Iraqi 1923. And other Gulf States became, as they are latter on. So, the OLF idea of Ethiopia hundreds years old is fiction, ignorant, baseless, wrong and second even if she it so, she is older than any nation in Africa and the Middle East, too. No a single African nation has a hundred years modern statehood.
When it comes to Somalia they have been a country for only 20+ years under Siadbarie. That is it. They never ever have been a country more than that. I think the habesha look like Somalians have the right to be part of Ethiopia if they want to be that way. But Ethiopia demanding them to be part of her will be a mistake. You cannot govern them because of they never been governed by themselves and they have no idea to respect it.
As the entire Kenyan cost is part of the Kenyan Somalians, Kenya will have big problem with them. If you listen Somalians individually, almost all of them like Ethiopians that any one from Africa including the Kenyans. The Somalian Immigrants that have been in Kenya will tell you their feeling about the Kenyans. While the same time those have been in Ethiopia also will tell you their appreciation and respect towards Ethiopians. Only few Jiahdists do hate Ethiopians because of religion.
Ethiopia has a big rat on her back yard and first and for most she has to deal with it. That rat is Eritrea. So, it is time to deal with the shabia rats. The have disappeared from Eritrea means all over Ethiopia will be peace and security as shabia is training all anti Ethiopian elements including the primitive Somalia Islamic terrorists, OLF and nomadic primitive ONLF.
10/04/08 @ 04:28
Comment from: Legassi Zenawi [Visitor]
Somaliland will be a free country with close ties to Ethiopia, UK, and USA, white isolated south somalia and pirate infested puntland are killing each other with their warlords and clan.
they always try to polarize and oversimplify the situation saying oh ethiopia = christian, somalia = muslim
you idiots either don’t have a clue or are primitive animals.
this is 100% about Territorial integrity of Ethiopia and 0% about religion.
u think that relgion can solve ur problem of fragmented society based on ethnic and tribal lines, YOU WRONG.
10/04/08 @ 05:10
Comment from: Legassi Zenawi [Visitor]
Ill make damn well sure that we take ONLY ASSEB and expel all NON AFAR eritrean animals/donkeys.
We will take back our ports, as Mengistu said:
“I was there [Eritrea] with 700 people, We are there only for military strategy of water [Red Sea], there’s no Oil there, no diamonds, no gold, it’s not a country, there’s no people, NOTHING”
We will be comming back for Asseb!
Ethiopia Tikdem
10/04/08 @ 05:16
Comment from: Yohannes [Visitor]
No! No! No! All so-called national boundries created by colonial masters should be dismantled. Africa must be united in order to survive in the 21st century as a viable entity. Clanish and tribal thought should be arrested. Let us think big and far into the future while educating the unlearned. Had it not been for their identity crisis, Africans could have thrived in modern global economy becuase of their untapped natural resources.
We have no one to blame now but ourselves.
Democracy is not for Africans, at least for now, for we do not have the cornerstones for it, education, self-respect, human dignity, etc. I think the primitive paternalistic dictatorship based on fatherly or may be, motherly rule would transition us to a better tomorrow. But for the current dictators….
10/04/08 @ 05:21
Comment from: dekia [Visitor]
who is giving ethiopia 100 years of more homework war again.
10/04/08 @ 07:34
Comment from: Somali [Visitor]
Kenya
– A country with the worst record of corruption in Africa since independence
– A country with the largest slums in Africa
– A country whose economy is controlled by ex-colonials and Indians and now Somalis
– A country where people a few months ago were burning/hacking and shooting each other to death – A situation that could break out again any day of the week considering all these ethnic groups are still not satisfied
– A country who’s main tourist industry is prostitution
– A country with a mindblowing aids rate – seven or eight times higher than Somalia
– A country that can’t provide water to all it’s nomadic ethnicities( funny how Djibouti was called primitive for the same reason)
This country is suppossed to solve the Somali problem? who’s going to solve KENYA’S PROBLEMS?
Ethiopia
– A country where a racist minority rules over majorities
– A country where a dozens different seccesion groups are active who want nothing to do with the country
– A country that has an inferior telecommunication system compared to Somalia
– A country with less universities in the top 100 of Africa than Somalia
– A country with a smaller GDP per capita than the failed-state Somalia( see Economist)
– A country where 15 million people every year face starvation
– A country that tap dances to every Uncle Sam tune
This country is going to solve the Somali problem? Who’s going to solve Ethiopia’s problems?
These GI JOE’s Arnold Kipkopkipko’s and Mutunga Wango’s pretending their countries are anything but slaves of America are amusing
Insha-allah by the time of his deadline 2030 Somalia will have swallowed them all
10/04/08 @ 08:03
Comment from: Mesganaw [Visitor]
Time:
A proud Somali? Proud of what?
Before the British and Italian came to scrub nomadic/primitive Somalia, there was no any form of govt since her existence. It was like a no mans land territory. It was ruled under a clan and sub clan system. After independency, Somalia was became as a nation only for less than 30 years.
Egypt was ruled by British. Libya was ruled by Italy. Algeria was ruled by France and Morocco was at last ruled by Spain. That is why there are 4 different countries despite they have the same religion and speaking the same language.
The same thing has to apply for Somalia, too. Somaliland was ruled by British. You have an Italian Somalia and Punt land. So, there must come three different nations in somalia the same way as it happened in North African and other nations, too. So you can count 2020, 2040, 2100+ as numbers are infinitive, but Somalia will not become as one nation. Canada and USA are speaking the same language and have the same religion, why they became two separate states? In the Middle East, South America and elsewhere different nations are speaking the same language and have the same religion. So, Somalia to become, as one nation because of they are speaking the same language and have the same religion is a weak, cheap and never materialise silly thinking. It is already tested for 20+ years and it didn’t work.
Why are you mad towards Ethiopia while the writer is from Kenya? Kenyans are using their arrows and machete against the Somalians calling them the primitive people in Africa.
You can cry or do what ever you like, but your Satanic wish about Ethiopia will never fulfil.
You really have no idea about Ethiopia. When the serious comes, they are one and even the air can not come between them. Accept it and learn more about the Ethiopians good side.
After all Ethiopians are the one saved Islam by giving shelter and support to Prophet Mohamed and his followers. This was the first recognised political asylum granted to any one in human history. The first person who became Muslim is an Ethiopian, Belay (Bilal). We also know what P. Mohammed said about the habesha land and people and to His followers would be conduct towards the habesha people.
But you bastard, his followers became the enemy to the prophet special friends(Habeshas). You are using his name to commit crimes by not respecting his message including towards the habesha people.
I think King Negash/the habesha people made mistakes by giving save heavens and accommodations to them and saved Islam from disappearing as it happened to other religion in human history. If they didn’t, Islam might not be here today. You can try what ever you can in the name of Mohammed against Ethiopia, but Mohammed, Jesus and God will not allow something bad happening against the habesha people. The Arabs are busy all the times against the habesha people for many centuries, but God is fighting against them in the name of the Habesha people. Their crime against the beautiful Habesha women also will be answered by God, soon. Their oil money will be the real curse towards them. You, a primitive Somalian is a slave to them. We know and you know about. Have you been in the middle East. They see you as a Mistake, servant, slave, leftover or a monkey came from the central Africa jungle.
How can you judge Ethiopia while you know nothing about yourself?
I’m talking this to you, not to other Somalians I know that are wise and respectful towards Ethiopians. Go to the Kenyans Blog and deal with them if you can how.
10/04/08 @ 10:20
Comment from: Wadani [Visitor]
If Ethiopia annexed Somalia,the dreams of Somalia will become true from the opposite way.It will be a surprising and an excitements to the Somalis that their dreams became true from their unexpected and believing their enemy of Ethiopia sides.As,ogaden peoples also,it will boost the voices we have in the federal parliaments of Ethiopia.
And it will be the end of the sources of liberator groups that used to be coming of each decades from Somalia (Mogadishu)without the Ogaden peoples consent.
Thus, it will be, a relaxing, peacefulness and a pretty ideas,if that dreams of unifications of Ethiopian and Somalia becomes true. Despite of the many causalities in the process,it will be really,a great idea and surely the rest of the region countries would be joining when they see the greatness and the prosperity reached of united countries of Addis and Mogadishu.
Nevertheless,My predictions of that early bird joining to the unions would be Asmara and the second would be Libiya even before the Djabuti joined to the unions,its Libiya of my second guess.
10/04/08 @ 10:30
Comment from: dereje [Visitor]
they say you can choose your friends but not your neighbors.
ethiopia is very unlucky to have somale and eritrea as its neighbor. ethiopias short term strategy should be to strengthen its economy and military so these bad neighbors stay off its affair and its land. in the long term ethiopia may have to take military actions to change the geography and the politics of the two menace.
10/04/08 @ 10:37
Comment from: Time [Visitor]
I have addressed this note to the editor of that article. Those like him should take heed. Africa is sick and tired of people like him.
———————————–
Dear Kir (Somali word),
What is your name again? Kipkorir? Wow, I did not know a Kalenjin guy had the audacity to think beyond his nose! Do you know your uncle MOI when he was overthrown the man who saved his sorry butt was a Somali (General-Mohamoud)? All the Kalenjins went and hid themselves in their Shambas (farms) including Moi. It was Mohamoud who with few soldiers mostly Somalis under his command took back the Statehouse and the Radio station and announced Moi is still the President.
Mohamoud took a helicopter and went to Moi’s Shamba to bring him back. The Kalenjin man (Moi) told Mohamoud ‘Please kill me in my farm. Don’t take me away’. Wow! and Wow again. A Kalenjin can dare think of annexing Somalia! It is us Somalis who allowed these low life neighbours who never dare look at our side the chance to even think of it. Alas, we Somalis might be brave but we are stupid. This generation is definately not like our grand father’s-Admission of guilt. The year 2020 will be Somalia’s year and down hill Isaac Newton’s theory for Ethiopia. I guess Kenya has already started the rift more than Ethiopia but what can a Kalenjin’s brain comprehend. Haven’t you seen the flying machetes? Each one of you has it in his garage and is ready to cut the other into pieces.
Having said all that, I would prefer seeing the people of Africa living in peace and prosperity rather than talking of annexing a sisterly nation. Kalenjin boy you forgot your country is at the brink of extinction. Let me say all African countries need to re-evaluate their way forward. Otherwise, they will be written into the history books. Aids, Malaria, Poverty, droughts, Wars will only increase bearing in mind the scarce resources the world will be facing. I fear for Africa and you are talking of annexing another country.
Wait until 2020 and tell me about it. Strategy and meticulous planning that covers many dimension will be the way out for Somalia. By 2020 the Al-shabaab and warlords will be history and there will be enough educated Somalis in western countries and back home who will take the lead. Investing in Infrastructure, Education, Agriculture and strong social engineering will put Somalia on Track. If you remember what I said, Ethiopia will be going down hills since by then they will be recovering from Meles and Tigrey Legacy if they are not mired in civil war. I just pray to God the Somalis don’t take revenge in playing a role in destabilizing Ethiopia more. That is what Meles did to Somalis. If this happens, I wonder who will hold together the Ethiopian tribes and religions. Somalis who have one religion and language have taken this long to resolve a civil war, what will you think of Kenya? this is a good perspective for a wise man.
We Somalis, have a saying that says “Don’t dig your brother’s grave as you might be the one that will fall into it”. Kenyans also say “Mchimba kisima huingia mwenyewe”. I have lived in Kenya long enough to know it upside down. You will not give me credit if I told you I am capable of formulating a strategy that will put Kenya on its knees within couple of years. I will not shout around like pumpkin head like you but be rest assured your desire was well known and it is a note well taken. Ethiopia with the help of America has already dug the grave for Somalis for many years and it is time they fall into it. As for Kenya and the likes of Kipkorir who don’t know what Somalis are, let me tell you, Somalis will not miss a sleep guarding against Kenyan invasion. The clock has started ticking two years ago and Twelve years from now will tell.
Proud Somali,
Mohamed Abass.
NAZRET PLEASE POST IT. THANKS
10/04/08 @ 10:47
Comment from: Master Mind [Visitor]
Time [Visitor]
What is a single point in all that crap?
You are recommanded to take a capule called “Vocabulary” every 8 hours before meal.
10/04/08 @ 11:07
Comment from: Tesfaye [Visitor]
Annexing Somalia is of strategic importance for Ethiopia to play the role of an ancient black civilisation. Ethiopia should take back Artra and Djoubiti. We have to do it by war if necessary. Eritrea is an ethiopian history. Those who do not want to live under Ethiopian administration are eritrean who are mercenaries. The real eritreans are ethiopians. Djubiti was taken from Ethiopia through international manipulations. Ethiopia is a might power. Unfortunaely the Zenawi group are anti-Ethiopia and are working against a centralised might power.
The Somalians have to be led. And it is only Ethiopia that could give Somalis some hope to live. The ethiopian army is still in full control in Somalia. If Ethiopia is serious, the Islamist will be destroyed with no man left. Ethiopia should wage a full scale war and annex Somalia for Ethiopia. The somalians could be chritinized and eat injera. No Islam in somalia. Somalians deserve more. Their children will go to the same schools as ethiopians. Somali girls will represent Ethiopia as ethiopians as atheletic champions.
Ethiopia is 70% christian- Orthodox Christian (60%). Islam is growing in Ethiopia but not significantly.
Wake up Ethiopians! Unite Africans under the banner of Ethiopia! Start with Somalia because Somalia needs us more!
10/04/08 @ 11:07
Comment from: visitor [Visitor]
Annexing Somalia…and what then? The problem of ethiopians is that we never learn..Last time, we annexed a country, we paid paid a huge price for it: 30 years of war and we missed a great chance to better our lives.
What i would advice all the dreamers in rags that we are, it’s to push woyannes to leave Somalia and focus on bringing health,education and food to the people they are supposed to rule :ethiopians.
10/04/08 @ 11:10
Comment from: ANNEX BRITISH EAST AFRICA AND HABASH [Visitor]
To annex Somalia mr. Kukiyo you need to
come to somali cities like Kismayo and
fight real men, Union of islamic courts/
Somali jihad movement/Somaliland National Army etc. We all know that conlonization of
of africa is finish but indeed the slaves
will never change their mindset. I am sitting today in Mombasa and looking at a Muslim /somali city and feeling home,
Kenya is a somali region and soon shall return to SOMALIYA/ we shall it return by be force or by talk, but untill then countinue with your Dreams.Because we as people
don’t talk nonsense we Somali take actions and Kenya is somali, go to any city and look for your self. while you are born slaves and only take orders, by somalis or british as in the past.We give orders. And
Todays Order to your mr Kikiyo is dream o
on my BOY>. this Text is written on behave of UNITED SOMAL EAST AFRICAN STATE (includes habashia and kenya).
thank you.
10/04/08 @ 11:11
Comment from: TEDDY [Visitor]
You mean ,annexion what a jock ,a tribal milicia army ,agazis ,blocked and harassed by bare footed children fighters ;has no means to control Somalia any longer than withdrawing or surrender .It’s sad to recognise since the evil Zenawi and his thugs took power Ethiopian Armed Forces have ceased to exist ,today the so called National Armed Forces are simply tribal based milicia forces led by illitrate TPLF bandit self apointed officers and generals .Agazis have no pride and dignity as much as the armed forces led in 1964 by Aman Adom and letter in 1977 led by Demisse Bulto ,of course the Air Force of Fanta Belay who really defeated twice Somalian invasion forces . LONG LIVE THE TRUE ETHIOPIANS !!!
10/04/08 @ 11:34
Comment from: D-barry [Visitor]
D. EAR Ogadenian please you talk sheet.I bean in ethio-somalia war 1977.When we start counter atack I saw with my eye the somalia army left behind all the Tank and weapon run like Horse 500k|meter.You know it 2 years ago it takes the heroic ethiopian army less than one week to control south Somalia.That is the fact broo.May be i have some difference with the government I still like ethiopia and the army.
10/04/08 @ 11:44
Comment from: girma yirgu [Visitor]
it is a good idea to take somalia to motherland ethiopia mokadischo means the papties city of ethiopia all ethiopian creastianity came frome thhough mmekadescha mokodischo if meles zenawi did that his name will be among the greatest of all somalia must join ethiopia as 14 provice of ethiopia
no more somalia only one ethiopia
ertrea will came by it self we must not forse them they used to be one nations
ertrea can not servive with out ethiopia please meles zenawi do that and clean your hand and make reconsilations among all ethiopians
so that your beloved childeren will with out fear of ethiopians
10/04/08 @ 11:50
Comment from: lekim [Visitor]
Only those who want Ethiopia and or Kenya to fight their dirty wars for them would advocate the annexation of Somalia. Ethiopia is a law abiding member of the world community and not a Trojan horse for imperialist pigs. Somalis can keep their banana republic.
10/04/08 @ 11:52
Comment from: Somalirealist [Visitor]
Somalia can Annex both Ethiopia and Kenya but not the vice versa.
This Kukuyu Niggar is dreaming.
Somalis own the biggest land in kenya, North Eat, NFD. SOmalis control the econmy in Kenya by taking over from the Indians. We have many politicians well placed into the system fot hat country. Muslims in Mombasa are with us. So basiccally we own Kenya.
TO Ethiopia, we own the biggest land, Oromos the majority of Ethiopia are firendly to us. 50 or more % are Muslim in Ethiopia and associate with Somalia, Eritrea is our Friend. Only Mountain people can go against us.
Above all, Somalia has the gutts to do this, without feering US and EU.
So given these facts, SOmalia can Annexx both of these countries.
However, it should not be our policy to do this.
This writer is a narrow minded fool who does not have any clue of what he is talking about about.
Somalia will think of Annexing any of its neighbours and if its neighbors start thinking so, we know how to respond with swift defeat.
10/04/08 @ 12:00
Comment from: Confussed [Visitor]
I was reading the credentials and experience of this so called the writer of this article, and come to the point of imagining the thoughts of his likes but less credentials. I guess they will imagine annexing the USA as well. All I can say is that this writer is loosing his mind and soon be a mad naked fool running around the streets begging for “Ugali”.
For those of you who applauded to his stupidest idea of all time are also thoughtless idiots. The matter of fact is that both Ethiopia and Kenya are barely making their needs let alone annexing another nation.
You all be really!
10/04/08 @ 12:32
Comment from: Seleme [Visitor]
. . . i dont agree,. . .let them live alone!. . .
10/04/08 @ 13:05
Comment from: Time [Visitor]
HERE IS THE FEEDBACK FROM THE EDITOR IN RESPONSE TO COMMENTS AND MY FOLLOW UP RESPONSE:
Mohamed,
Thanks for your comments though part of them are unnecessarily vitriolic! The strand of my thesis is that if Somalia can’t fix its problems since 1960 and be able to exploit its minerals then kenya and ethiopia should do it!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Celtel Kenya
————————————
With all due respect Mr. Kipkorir, who would fix Ethiopia and Kenya’s problems? Did Kenya and Ethiopia exploit their resources? I think you are using lame excuse to bring forth your hidden agenda. Please advocate for civility and respect among the nighbouring countries. If we look at Kenya, solving the problem of Nairobi slums, disease and poverty will take years. Why don’t you concern yourself with that? It is humilating to suggest poor and backward countries like Ethiopia and Kenya should annex another African country. Why have you never talked of annexing Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, and Zaire to mention a few?
Your comment has no place in modern Africa. If you are among the peace loving Kalenjin people who are very friendly to Somalis, you would write an appology article in response to the ill thought and sinister article you titled “Annexing Somalia”.
10/04/08 @ 13:28
Comment from: el [Visitor]
Somali [Visitor]
assuming you are Somalian, where did you get your facts about Somalia’s GDP being higher than ethiopia or Somalia having more universities than ethiopia? It doesn’t actually matter whither you are somalian or Eritrean since you both have a lot in common in terms of being the only so called nations in the world with no annual budget and higher education(university) to talk about, let alone GDP . be happy you are not alone.
10/04/08 @ 13:47
Comment from: United Alem [Visitor]
I WILL POOT IT IN SHORT !…. NO NEED TO CREAT AGAIN EAST AFRICAN EVERLASTING WAR AS PALESTINE AND ISRAEL BETWEEN ETHIOPAN AND SOMALIAN!!!!!!EVEN 1000000 % WORST THAN PALESTINIAN AND ISRAEL!!!! “GOMEN/CABAGE BETEN” SANG TSHAY YOHANES
10/04/08 @ 14:07
Comment from: Tesfaye [Visitor]
Emperor minilk said if god gave him the the bless to live longer and in health, he would annex all territories along the indian ocean coastline.
When he aimed this He ignored the Eritreans(BANDAS)at the moment.
But minilik died before accomplishment.
Now Meles Zenawi look like
accomplishing what Minilk started.
10/04/08 @ 14:08
Comment from: mo [Visitor]
did i heard him say somalis have more per-capita then kenya.that says alot isn’t it? if that is the case knowing kenya has more per-capita then ethopia,they could only invade with artificially sustained armies. its a fact that we are prosprering more than you lot eventhougt we didnot have proper governemet for ages.what will happen if we have peace god knos
10/04/08 @ 14:38
Comment from: jank@mail.com [Visitor]
MY ANSWER IS SIMPLE YES!
WHY DID YOU TAKE YOU LONG!
for starter I have a fealing Somilian in Ethiopian have better life then Somilian in Somilian… Ethiopian problem is always money otherwise we are much modern people… even much better advance people then USA… we are very poor but we are not killing each or fool reason… you don’t some one telling you he will kill you because you are muslim etc etd.. or he doesn’t like because you are this or that ethnic groups… beside we are not war like people… we respect rule and law we vaule human life….
Beside on this Somilian would be better of ruled by Ethiopian under Ethiopian flag…
To make sure this become a reality we should arm all woman in Somilia give them gun to proect themselves from war lord… once we are all the woman in Somilia the man will lose their power… The man can not go around and tell the woman to sew their privet part… if they do the woman police officer will coem and take him to jail… you see if you want the woman right to be respected then you should give woman power how by giving them power meaning gun… GUN MEAN POWER IN AFRICA… if the woman misss use the gun and attack the Ethiopian army then that is their lose…
In fact armying the woman would be the best staragy even in all Arab countries… if all the woman have gun… how in hell the man will going to oppress them?
100,000 woman army will do the job to fix the men… now the warlord can’t wear the woman dress and do their drity job the woman will stop him!!!!
Eritean have woman army… some northern arab country also have woman army… if the woman feed up with this BS then they should be happy to fitght for their freedom…. if they didnot then they are have only themselves to belmeam
10/04/08 @ 14:53
Comment from: Shewarega [Visitor]
Somalia is a sovreign nation. What ever problem they have within them, including those of Somalilan/Puntland belongs to them. Having said that, I think Somalis should also stop this never ending plot of attacking and plotting against Ethiopia. We can all go to history and talk about who did what to whom. But lets just live that alone, and let us both strive to first reconstitute Somalia, and second bring about true Democratic governments in both countries. For Democratic nations do not spend their day plotting how to destabilize, or conquer their neighbors. Somalia had one chance to grab territories from Ethiopia. That was 1977 when Ethiopia was swept by revolution. But look what that brought upon Somalia. It disintegrated at its seems. And you fed and bred Meles, who was carrying a Somali passport, and you got what you deserved. He is bombing and destroying your homes. I think the bottom line is this talk of annexing Somalia is a joke. On the same token Somalis should stop this dream of grabbing land from their neighbors. The most important thing is that those who live there get a voice, and are beneficiaries of what they possess. I for one will be very happy if there is peace in Ogaden, and the oil is brought out to change the lives of those long suffering people there.
10/04/08 @ 15:26
Comment from: coolman [Member]
All of you people trumpeting for this
outrageous idea suffer from delusion of grandeur, which has proven to be the best recipe for disaster.
Thank God none of you seats at the wheel of power. What is next, Madagaskar? I think we should start with Sudan. And, with the oil money, we can buy all those fancy weapons and cash in Egypt and Libya.
Oh, Talian gudish fela, we are coming to get you too.
Peace
10/04/08 @ 15:31
Comment from: Mr Fair [Visitor]
I don’t know where Mr. Kopkirir grew up but I can see a dangerous mix of hate and ignorance.
If Southern and Central Somalia where part of Kenya, I have no doubt that withing few years, Kenya would have turned into a Somali dictatorship, Woyane style.
Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin etc. would have been just like the Gurage, Afar, Wolyta etc in Ethiopia i.e nice hard working people who have nothing to do with power struggle. In a few decades, there would probably be another Mao Mao to kick out the Somalis, or there may be Kenyan Liberation Front.
Somali Kenyans represent about 3% of the Kenyan population at the same time they control a big junk of the economy and they controlled the military to some extent. Raise that percentage to about 18% and Kenya would be in a big trouble.
What about Puntaland and Somaliland (Northern and Northwestern Somalia) being part of Ethiopia?
Here are two scenarios;
If they decide to fight occupation, then they are the ones who can organize themselves the most and they can wage a war comparable to that of Eritrea. Actually the Somalilanders (Nortwest) and the Ogadenis were historically the bulwark against the expansionist Ethiopian kings and they had the upper hand until European colonialists tied their hands(there was weapons embargo on all Somali Speaking region for more than 70 years).
If they decide to forget about Somali ethnocentrism, hold hands with their muslim brothers in the Horn, and compete for power withing Ethiopia, then the fundamentalist Ethiopian Orthodox church would be in trouble. That would have been a big boost for the humbled Ethiopian Muslims.
A short answer for the whole article would have been;
Tried it and good luck.
10/04/08 @ 16:14
Comment from: jank@mail.com [Visitor]
RE:-Somalia is a sovreign nation.
Next you will tell us they are Muslim nation.. you see sovereign nation doesn’t rap and murder their own people..
be it in Muslim be it in any law NO! country have the right to kill their own citizen… I have no marcy for those killer and murderer hiding behind Sovreign nation crap!
If they want to be respected as Sovreign ation then why are they looting the sea? if they are Msulim why are they looting at Gun point.. they are not Msulim yes they hide behind Muslim cover but what they did is not Isalam…
The old day where a sovreign nation can do any crap as they wish in their own people is gone… if you don’t trust me ask those Bosinan Msulim they got help from USA… when their own nation kill them
My point is Somilian are not a sovreign nation they break all the rule in the book be it UN rule be it Muslim rule be it devil rule be it any rule… they burn the rule and the holy book
my friend when white colonzation end the black colonzation started we Ethiopian will be the first to stop this black colonzation they like it or not..
I hope the Russian would be very happy to help us out to restore peace and law and rule in Ethiopia… it not today 20 years later Somilian will be greatful for the help we give them at their time of need…
MY question to any Ethipian would be you would not mind if the Somilian come and kick out Meles? I know you will not mind! that is why you are working with Eritrean to kick Meles therefore what is the diffrent here… if we help the Somilian people kick out the war lord…
as united with Ethiopia we are the same people think about it the federal system will sove all our proplem they can keep their port but all Somilian or Ethiopian will not need visa to come and work in Ethiopia or Somilia we use the birr and Somilaian currecy… us see we don’t want to control them we only want to be hlep that all..
There are bright future for Kenya with a good number of job creation if only they follow and stick with the law as per the Constitutional Reform that respect and value public mandate, and honor Human Rights and through putting their leaders on checks.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
Balala: Mining Bill ready
Published on Aug 6, 2013
http://www.nation.co.ke
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Speaking at a press briefing in his office, Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said the new Mining Bill, which was at the cabinet level would help streamline the mining industry saying all companies would get equal treatment by paying a flat rate in license fees and mining royalties, measures he said could earn the government over Sh10 billion immediately the measures were put in place. He also revoked 31 mining licences issued by the mining ministry between January and May this year saying they were issued in unclear circumstances. At the same time, the government has formed a taskforce to look into issuance of over 500 licences to mining companies since 2003, amidst reports that some were mere briefcase entities engaging in speculation and had no capacity to conduct commercial exploitation. Mr Balala said preliminary investigations indicated that only 20 out of the 500 companies were credible, with others out to make profits through speculation and hoarding of mineral resources, and making super profits by only paying a pittance to government by operating under the cover of export subsidies and other forms of preferential treatment.
Africa’s richest Aliko Dangote to visit Kenya over suspension of mining licenses
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Last Modified: 07 Aug 2013 23:39
Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote could be coming to Kenya to discuss with government on matters touching on the suspension of mining licenses. The businessman, one of the richest Africans was initially expected today but rescheduled due to the shut down of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport due to an inferno
Balala revokes mining licenses
Published on Aug 5, 2013
In a move set to streamline Kenya’s mining sector, Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has revoked all licenses issued from January to August 2013 to mining companies across the country. Balala says the decision was arrived at as a number of the licenses issued did not follow the ‘set parameters’ of the ministry. The Cabinet Secretary further announced the review in royalties to be charged on various minerals. The move to revoke the licenses is estimated to affect over 31 companies. NTV’s Aby Agina has the details.
Parliament recess
Published on Aug 6, 2013
No description available.
Balala revokes 31 mining licences
Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has revoked 31 mining licences issued between January and May 2013, saying they were issued under unclear circumstances.
Posted Monday, August 5 2013 at 13:28
Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has revoked 31 mining licences issued between January and May 2013, saying they were issued under unclear circumstances.
At the same time, the government has formed a taskforce to look into issuance of licences to mining companies, that will scrutinize among other things, the companies’ capacity to undertake mining activities and generate tax revenue.
Mr Balala said out of 500 mining licenses issued within that period, only 20 were held by credible companies, while others were held by “briefcase’ companies that are in the business of speculating and hoarding of the mineral resource.
MPs probe Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s deals with Chinese companies
Updated Wednesday, August 7th 2013 at 19:25 GMT +3
By GEOFFREY MOSOKU
KENYA: Members of Parliament put Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) on the spot after it emerged the facility signed a memorandum of Sh17 billion with two Chinese firms.
The hospital signed a deal to engage China Aerospace Construction Group to carry out upgrading and expansion of the facility on October 2012. However, this year on May 3, the country’s second biggest referral hospital entered into another deal with China Wu Yi for the same project, without cancelling the first one.
The hospital admitted that they engaged a South African firm, TECMED in May 2012, but stopped any further engagement with it after Chinese government offered to finance the multi-billion shilling project on condition that only Chinese firms are considered for the contract.
Although the tender has not been awarded, MPs have expressed concern that the project may be derailed as it emerged that the earlier memorandum was binding. The MoU with China Aerospace is said to be having a clause that says, “MTRH does not engage with any other firm”.
The legislators want to establish if the hospital sidestepped the first company and is now favouring China Wu Yi, and whether the MoU with China Aerospace won’t return to haunt the project.
Another concern is why seven senior officials accepted a seven-day trip to China facilitated by China Wu Yi, a month after signing the memorandum yet they had not engaged further China Aerospace eight months after signing an MoU.
Delay
“We want to know under what circumstances MTRH signed a memorandum with the two companies. This may end up pitting the firms against each other and may cause unnecessary delay,” Health committee chair Rachel Nyamai said.
The committee yesterday ordered the management of MTRH hospital to furnish MPs with details of the two memoranda.
The legislators put hospital CEO John Kibosia to task to explain the status of the project given the existence of the two memoranda.
The MPs wondered why the CEO led management team to China last month on an all-expense-paid trip.
“The committee may consider this trip as a bribe,” Dr Nyamai said before ordering Dr Kibosia to return to the committee on Tuesday next week.
Embakasi North MP John Gakuya also wanted the hospital boss to explain why they had technically knocked out some companies, especially those from Spain that had expressed interest in the project.
The delegation to China included Dr Kibosia, Deputy Director Finance and Administration Agunda Ochanda, Deputy Director Francis Ogaro, Radiology and Imaging Head Of Department Ezekiel Chemulwo, hospital engineer Joseph Atogo, HOD Laboratory Services Florence Tum and Project co-ordinator Silas Tum.
Dr Kibosia defended the July 1 to 9 trip, saying it was part of due diligence in determining capacities of the companies that responded to the proposal. “The visit to China was to help the hospital carry out due diligence and make evaluations of Chinese medical equipment manufacturers. The visit was also meant to enrich our conceptual requirements of a modern referral hospital,” he told the MPs.
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2013
One of the News Dispatch readers who is also a civil servant employee has just confirmed to the News Dispatch that their July salaries have not been dispatched to their various banks contrary to what the Deputy President William Ruto claimed. She wants to know whether the government of Kenya is actually broke.
Another reader would like to know whether it is an act of impunity for the Jubilee parliamentary committee members to argue that William Ruto should not be crucified over his luxurious jet trip since former PM Raila Odinga and VP Kalonzo Musyoka also had luxurious trips abroad.
Although there is a lot of talk going around that the government is broke, according to Business Weekly News Kenya is not broke because if it was, it would mean that Kenya was out of money, unable to pay bills, or meet its financial obligations.
The fact however remains that Kenya does not have enough money to cater for its budget. A lot of money is going towards debt repayments. Currently the government owes Kenyan and foreign households as well as institutions a collective Sh1.8 trillion (based on April 2013 figures), and this borrowing has significantly increased over the decade.
This amount is beyond Kenyan budget of Sh 1.6 trillion for the year 2013/14. This is despite the fact that national debt should be benchmarked to the size of a nation’s economy or income. The combined total debt is currently about 49 per cent of GDP.
This is of course, to bear in mind that the real risk from government debt is the burden of interest payments. Countries can remain perpetually indebted so long as interest payments don’t go out of control. That is why Kenya should really care about its debt’s annual carrying cost, especially in relation to the size of its economy.
As at the end of April, debt servicing as percentage of GDP stood at 3.2 per cent. This is what worries Kenyans because when interest payments reach about 12 per cent of GDP then a government will likely default on its debt.
We must accept that Kenya is currently loading up big sums of debt. Yet Kenya continues to borrow many times what it used to borrow a decade ago at a fraction of the cost it used to. So debt structure matters a lot as Kenyan economy is concerned.
About 57 per cent of the national debt is domestic and is held by local commercial banks, insurance companies, parastatals and building societies among others. The remaining 43 per cent is held by foreigners.
The other scenario as The Kenyan Daily Post exclusively reports is that Jubilee Government is currently broke due to the fact that it used large amounts of money to fund the campaigns of President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto before the March 4 general elections.
Currently the government has no money to pay over 450,000 civil servants, including teachers, doctors and MPs. Key indicators of a broke Government include inability to meet its recurrent expenditure (paying salaries, servicing loans etc), reduced revenue collection, sudden increase in taxes (VAT), and disposal of assets, excess domestic borrowing, and slow implementation of commissioned long term projects.
Unlike Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, the Kibaki administration did well in seeking ways to lengthen the maturity of its domestic debt. It successfully issued a 25-year bond, which was a major boost for investor confidence and helped the government access cheaper and longer-dated debt.
Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Ruto cannot boost investors’ confidence and helped the government access cheaper and longer-dated debt because of the International Criminal Court (ICC) pending at The Hague.
While it could be true that the president and the Vice president are not the only ones who we’re responsible for the 2007/08, a discourse of the two politicians being made the sacrificial lambs is currently affecting Kenyans dearly.
It remains to be seen what is going to happen in the coming days since it appears their cases might be collapsing at the ICC on account of witnesses pulling out and as a result of lobbying in high places by Uhuru administration.
The lobby begun before Kenyatta and Ruto took over Kenya. It began with former VP Kalonzo Musyoka, the then country’s Trade minister Chirau Mwakwere to Bosnia and Lebanon, while Agriculture minister Sally Kosgei and East African Community’s Hellen Sambili to Brazil after Mr Musyoka’s meeting with UN secretary general.
The first round of shuttle diplomacy saw Mr Musyoka leading a number of ministers in lobbying mission in a number of African countries and cost tax-payers more than $362,450.18. Former legislator Paul Muite accused the government of further using taxpayers money to collect signatures from the public against the ICC process. Mr Muite said chiefs were paying individuals $2.5 each to sign a petition against ICC.
President Mwai Kibaki dispatched then Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to see the heads of state of the African countries that at the time were members of the UN Security Council, namely Gabon, Nigeria, and South Africa. He also went to neighboring Uganda.
Two other cabinet ministers were sent to six other African countries. All this happened in the first three weeks of January 2011 ahead of the regular African Union (AU) heads of state and government summit, which was held at the end of January.
The message to the different African capitals was that Kenya had enacted a new constitution just five months earlier in August 2010, which triggered the transformation of the Kenyan state, including enhancing the independence of its criminal justice system.
President Kibaki’s representatives told the African leaders that Kenya needed time to implement those changes to the criminal justice system so that any suspected perpetrator of the violence that nearly tore up the country in January-February 2008 could be tried at home.
The side of the coalition led by then Prime Minister Raila Odinga was opposed to the attempt to get the cases deferred by the UN Security Council. Their argument was that Kenya had already tried to set up an independent tribunal to handle the post-election violence cases and failed, so the ICC cases should be allowed to run their course.
Recently William Ruto undertook his first diplomatic tour since ascending office-diplomatic onslaught which has been around what is currently referred to as the Jet Scandal. This involves the manner in which the office of the Vice President went about procuring the services of a luxurious jet and the price the state will pay for this trip.
What has annoyed the public is the huge sums of money involved in this West African trip while the government has been busy advocating for austerity in spending of public funds. So it is not whether Raila and Kalonzo also used huge sums of money during their tour, it is a burden Kenyans are forced to carry what is not beneficial to them.
If the case fails to collapse as is the wish of Kenyatta and Ruto, it means they will be unable to travel except to countries that do not recognise the ICC court. It will mean that aid to Kenya, including training the Kenyan armed forces, will be cut. British and US naval ships will stop using Mombasa port. Kenyans will find it harder to come to Europe and the US.
Concerning the question on impunity, yes, it is the act of impunity for the Jubilee parliamentary committee members to argue that Ruto should not be sacrificed when Raila and Kalonzo also used luxurious trips.
It is this impunity why throughout the years Kenyan presidents have failed to send to jail those who have regularly looted the state through scams such as Goldenburg and Anglo Leasing.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
YouTube videos of
U.S. Congress money laundering hearing
of Saudi Billionaire ” Maan Al sanea”
with bank of America
and The owner of Saad Hospital and Schools
in the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia
and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Awal Bank in Bahrain
